In Brief
- Pincky Balhara became the sole Indian competitor to secure two Asian Games medals in kurash.
- Balhara defeated South Korea's Lim Garam 3-0 in the quarterfinals before losing 0-5 to South Korea's Sumin Mo in the semifinals.
- The bronze medal adds to the silver medal Balhara won in the women's 52kg event at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
Indian kurash athlete Pincky Balhara clinched the bronze medal in the women's 78kg category at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on September 28, 2026. Balhara opened her campaign with a 3-0 quarterfinal win against South Korea's Lim Garam to guarantee a podium finish. In the semifinal, she suffered a right knee injury and lost 0-5 to South Korea's Sumin Mo, who scored a Yonbosh point while Balhara received a Dakki penalty. Under kurash rules, both losing semifinalists automatically receive bronze medals without a third-place playoff.
The victory makes Balhara the first Indian athlete to win two Asian Games medals in kurash, having previously claimed silver in the women's 52kg weight class at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games. The medal represents India's third overall Asian Games medal in the traditional Uzbek martial art, following Balhara's 2018 silver and Malaprabha Jadhav's 2018 bronze. The result moved India's total medal count at the 2026 Asian Games to 39 medals.
