Wrestler Antim Panghal hungry for Asian Games, Olympic medal: No jalebi until LA 2028

For the past three years, Antim Panghal has stayed away from jalebi, her favorite sweet. The 22-year-old wrestler promised herself that after the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, she would finally have one.

The wait is part of a larger sacrifice for a wrestler whose immediate focus is the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya but whose biggest ambition is to win an Olympic medal in Los Angeles.

“I have not eaten it for three years. I will eat it in 2028 (after LA28). I really want to eat it. But I will not eat it now. Whenever I come home, my mother prepares Kadhi and Churma for me,” Antim told Times Now in an interview.

Before he can think about Los Angeles, Antim has an important destination in Japan. She will compete in the 53kg category at the Asian Games and hopes to improve on the bronze medal she won in Hangzhou in 2023.

“I will give 100 percent. Last time I was a junior. But this time I have to compete as a senior,” she said.

Her Asian Games campaign will also be an important part of a much bigger Olympic plan. The World Championships in October will be one of Antim’s biggest tests before the start of the Olympic qualification cycle in February 2027.

“I have to qualify for the Olympics next year. I have to do my best at the World Championships,” she said.

ANTIM’S ASIAN GAMES GOAL

Antim secured her place in India’s Asian Games squad after defeating Meenakshi Goyat in the 53kg qualifier in New Delhi. Meenakshi had earlier stunned Vinesh Phogat in the semifinals before Antim stopped her from completing the upset run.

The field in Japan will be tough, with Antim expecting the biggest challenges to come from traditional Asian wrestling powerhouses.

“We will do our best. But most of the challenges will come from Japan, China and North Korea,” she said.

Antim also spent time training at Nippon University in Japan last year, an experience that could help her settle into the conditions when she returns to the Asian Games.

ENTRY OF ANTIMA PANGHALA IN INDIAN WRESTLING

Antim took up wrestling in 2017 after being encouraged by her elder sister, a kabaddi player, in Bhagana village of Hisar district in Haryana. Competing in local dangals as a child, she quickly became one of India’s brightest young wrestling talents. In 2022 and 2023, she became the first Indian female wrestler to win Under-20 world titles.

She has since won bronze medals at the 2023 and 2025 Senior World Championships and added a bronze from the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Her rise was supported by a family that made many sacrifices of their own. Her father, Ram Niwas Panghal, once rented a house in Hisar so that Antim could travel about 20 kilometers each way for training.

“She gets up at 4 am. She works out twice a day and has never complained once,” he told India Today in an earlier interview.

Now Antim is preparing for the next Asian Games with an even bigger goal. At the national camp in New Delhi, she spent more time on the mat working on her attacks and counters. Japanese coach Kosei Akaishi, a two-time Olympic medalist, is also helping her to improve her attacking game.

Women’s wrestling head coach Virender Dahiya believes Antim has the potential to win gold in Japan and eventually become an Olympic champion. For Antim, the plan is clear: challenge for Asian Games gold, qualify for the Olympics and then chase a medal in Los Angeles.

Jalebi can wait. It’s been three years already.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

15 Sep 2026 10:28 IST