Asian Games 2026: From Suruchi Singh to Nitesh Siwach, 5 Indian athletes who won medals after switching sports

For some Indian athletes, the road to the Asian Games 2026 podium in Aichi-Nagoya did not begin in the sport in which they eventually won their medals.

Injuries, missed selections, opportunities and advice from coaches led several athletes to change disciplines before establishing themselves at the continental level.

Here are five Indian medallists whose sporting journeys took an unexpected turn.

Suruchi Singh Phogat became an Asian Games champion in shooting after beginning her sporting journey as a wrestler. The Haryana athlete was introduced to wrestling by her father, but a collarbone fracture after around six months of training changed her path.

Her father subsequently took her to a shooting range in Bhiwani, where she began training under coach Suresh Singh. The switch eventually produced remarkable results.

At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Suruchi teamed up with Kamaljeet Singh to win gold in the mixed 10m air pistol event. The Indian pair scored 486.6 in the final, setting a new Asian Games record.

Suchika Tariyal's journey involved several combat sports before she reached the Asian Games podium in mixed martial arts. She had represented India in judo before moving into kurash and later ju-jitsu, eventually turning to MMA.

At 36, Tariyal competed in the women's traditional 60kg MMA event at the 2026 Asian Games. She defeated Mongolia's Altanchimeg Baigalmaa in the quarter-finals to secure a medal before eventually taking bronze.

Her medal was particularly significant because MMA made its Asian Games debut at Aichi-Nagoya, making Tariyal India's first Asian Games medallist in the discipline.

Satnam Singh began as a handball player and competed at national level before moving into rowing in 2018. His physical attributes caught the attention of Olympian Swarn Singh Virk, who encouraged him to explore the sport. The change ultimately took him to the Asian Games podium.

Satnam partnered Salman Khan in the men's double sculls at Aichi-Nagoya. The pair won bronze, giving India its first-ever Asian Games medal in the double-sculls event.

Pincky Balhara's move from judo to kurash came after she missed out on selection for India's judo team. She subsequently concentrated on kurash and earned a place in India's squad for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. The change gave her a new route to the Asian Games.

Eight years later, Balhara added another medal to her record by winning bronze in the women's 78kg kurash competition at Aichi-Nagoya. She fought through a knee injury during the competition before her run ended in the semi-final.

Nitesh Siwach initially went to Pratap School intending to play kabaddi. However, the presence of a wrestling programme and encouragement from his father led him towards wrestling instead.

That decision eventually produced one of India's notable results in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2026 Asian Games.

Siwach won silver in the men's 97kg Greco-Roman category in Aichi-Nagoya. His run to the final made him the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler in more than six decades to reach an Asian Games final, since India's previous finalists in the discipline at the 1962 Games.

PN Vishnu is a contributor with the LiveMint Sports team, where he primarily covers cricket, football and other major sporting events. A passionate sports journalist with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, Vishnu has been an ardent follower of sports for more than 10 years. While he enjoys covering a wide range of disciplines, his biggest sporting passions remain cricket and football. He is also a devoted supporter of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and Manchester United in English football. <br><br> Vishnu pursued a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, in 2016 and graduated in 2017. Since then, he has built an extensive career in sports journalism, working with leading media organisations including Deccan Chronicle and Firstpost. In 2025, he worked for CricXtasy for six months before joining LiveMint in February 2026. <br><br> Over the years, he has reported extensively on marquee sporting events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL). His reporting has also provided opportunities to interact with some of the game's leading personalities, including India cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhruv Jurel. <br><br> Away from the newsroom, Vishnu enjoys unwinding with books, discovering new music and binge-watching television series.