Nitesh Siwach secured a silver medal for India in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Asian Games after finishing runner-up to Japan’s Yuri Nakazato on Thursday.

Nitesh started the final looking to take control with a two-on-one grip, but Nakazato kept the Indian wrestler from creating a clear attacking opportunity. The Japanese wrestler opened the scoring by pushing Nitesh out of the wrestling area.

Nitesh was later placed in the ground position after being called for passivity. He defended well, however, preventing Nakazato from getting the grip needed to execute a gut wrench and add to his score.

Nakazato went into the end of the opening period with a 2-0 lead, keeping Nitesh in a headlock position as the first period drew to a close.

The Japanese wrestler extended his advantage in the second period after using a push to unsettle Nitesh and then converting the opening into a successful takedown. That took Nakazato’s lead to 4-0.

Nitesh continued to look for an opening and needed to attack with about a minute remaining, but Nakazato’s defence remained solid until the end. The Japanese wrestler held on for a 4-0 victory, leaving Nitesh with the silver medal.

The medal adds another Greco-Roman wrestling achievement to India’s Asian Games record. India’s previous Greco-Roman gold medals came in 1962, when Malwa Singh won the 52kg title and Ganpat Andalkar claimed gold in the +97kg category.

With PTI inputs