CHENNAI: India's Greco-Roman wrestler Nitesh Siwach's semifinal bout and his compatriot Deepak Punia's bronze medal play-off in freestyle wrestling at the recently-concluded 2026 Asian Games share a common thread. Opponent of both the Indians was Mongolian wrestler Gankhuyag Ganbaatar. In the 60s and 70s, it was common for wrestlers to compete in both styles of competitions at such a big stage. But with the sport more demanding and the conflicting body mechanics of the two styles mean such sights have become rare in modern days.
The 30-year-old Ganbaatar, who hails from Khovd province of Mongolia, too was only a freestyle wrestler until last year. The switch might have happened only recently but it ended the country's 52-year-old medal drought in Greco-Roman wrestling in Nagoya. "It's a historical achievement for us. We last won a medal from the Asian Games in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1974, so this is after 52 years," Myanganbayar Batsukh, secretary general of Mongolian Wrestling Federation, told TNIE.
Despite a loss against Nitesh, who finished with a historic silver for India, the Mongolian finished on the podium beating his rival from Turkmenistan in the bronze medal play-off. The previous edition bronze medallist, however, could not retain his medal in freestyle after losing 1-2 to Deepak in a highly-technical bout.
This was his second loss against the Haryana wrestler. He squared off against Punia at the 2020 Senior Asian Championships held in New Delhi. The home favourite won the 86kg freestyle contest 8-2 then. But it was Ganbaatar, who emerged the winner when the duo faced off first. It came in the 2017 U23 World Championships, where the Mongolian won the pre-quarterfinal bout 7-3 before losing the next round against a wrestler from Belarus.
Similar to challenges he frequently overcomes on the mat to win laurels for his country, Ganbaatar prevailed over numerous difficulties early in his life. "My parents are herders who raise livestock in the countryside. As the youngest child with two elder sisters and an elder brother, I grew up in poverty and hardship," the wrestler elaborated to TNIE.
Ganbaatar, who had won multiple medals at the Senior Asian Championships (all freestyle) and a bronze at the 2018 U23 World Championships in 86kg freestyle, used to train horses like any ordinary Mongolian child residing in the countryside. "Because I grew up wrestling with horses and cattle in rural Mongolia, so it's a problem. I used to break in and train race horses. I first began wrestling by watching and taking an interest in our Mongolian national wrestling. Mongolia's national wrestling is a discipline that demands immense strength," added the Mongolian.
Ganbaatar said he started Greco-Roman wrestling a year ago even as he has been competing in freestyle competitions for more than a decade now. Mongolian federation secretary threw more light on how Ganbaatar got inclined to the Greco-Roman style. "Ganbaatar is a freestyle wrestler for Mongolian national team. He is also well accomplished in Mongolian traditional wrestling — Bukh, which is similar to Greco-Roman style of wrestling. So in recent years he started training in GR and started competing last year," Batsukh said.
With his interest in the sport growing with each passing day, a young Ganbaatar decided to move to Ulaanbaatar, the country's capital. "I moved to Ulaanbaatar from the countryside in 2014. Back in the countryside, "training" a horse is really just playing with it, after all, every Mongolian child rides horses," said the wrestler.
Given the financial constraints, Ganbaatar faced many challenges initially but overcame all of them to make his way to the national team. "Coming from the countryside to the city to become a national team member, he faced many challenges including being away from home and family. He not only succeeded in his endeavour but also helped the country to its GR medal in more than five decades," signed off Batsukh.
