Pincky Balhara from New Delhi won the bronze medal in women’s 78kg category Kurash event at Asian Games 2026 on Monday.
Published: September 28, 2026, 1:16 PM IST
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India’s Pincky Balhara won the bronze medal at Asian Games 2026(Source: X)
Asian Games 2026: India have secured their 39th medal of the Asian Games 2026 and brought home their second medal after shooter Esha Singh’s silver medal earlier in the dayVeteran India Kurash star Pincky Balhara lost in her women’s 78kg category semifinal to South Korea’s Sumin Mo and had to settle for a bronze medal at the Asian Games.
Balhara, who hails from New Delhi, endured a Dakki (penalty) during the bout while Mo earned ‘Yonbosh’ pointIt is Balhara’s second Asian Games medal, having won a silver in the women’s 52kg category at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, when the sports discipline made its debut, eight years backMalaprabha Jadhav had also won a bronze in 2018 Asian Games.
KURASH: Its 2nd consecutive Asian Games medal for PINCKY BALHARA.
Won in the last edition #AG2026withIAS #AichiNagoya2026 https://t.co/MY8JSZsLl9
— India_AllSports (@India_AllSports) September 28, 2026
Earlier, Balhara prevailed with a 3-0 over Garam Lim in the quarterfinalsThe 27-year-old Indian produced the decisive score through a ‘Chala’, while Lim could not register a point across the boutA ‘chala’ point can be won when a Kurash athlete throws the opponent but the move lacks full control.
The 27-year-old, who got a bye in the pre-quarterfinals, revealed she was battling keen pain after being hit by her opponent in the quarterfinal“I got injured in the quarterfinal match, got hit on the kneeMy opponent in the quarterfinal was also a KoreanSo, my semifinal opponent knew that I got injured on my right knee,” Balhara was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.
“I was attacking but she was hitting me there (on her knee) again and againSo, I lost on penalty,” she added.
Who is Pincky Balhara?
The Kurash athlete, who is a resident of Neb Sarai in the National Capital, began her career in the sport back in 2015She has won gold at the Junior Asia Championship in Taipei (2015), silver at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and gold again at the 2024 World Nomad Games in Astana in Kazakhstan.
Now competing in the women’s 78kg category, she claimed silver at the 2026 Senior Asian Cup in Uzbekistan and gold at the 2026 Senior NationalsShe trains at WINN Sports Academy, Saharanpur under coach Ms Kiran.
“This is only my second bout in 78kg and before that I competed in Asian Championships in Uzbekistan in MayThat was my first in 78kg,” Balhara said.
Kurash is a traditional form of wrestling from Uzbekistan, involving standing throws and tripsIt appears similar to judo, with competitors gripping each other’s jackets to throw their opponent onto the matIf thrown onto the side, points are awardedIf thrown to the belly or onto the side, a lower score is givenThe athlete who can notch up most points wins.
