Aman Sehrawat returns after ban; wins National C'ships gold despite injury

Sehrawat, 22, was competing for the first time since the Wrestling Federation of India revoked his ban last month. He was banned by the national federation in September for failing to make weight at the 2025 World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb.

The year-long ban was revoked after two months.

"I apologised for the mistake and requested the federation to revoke the ban," Sehrawat told The Bridge after winning the national title.

"I told them it happened for the first time and won’t happen ever again. I’ll make sure to take care of the weight before the competitions and ensure that I always keep this in mind for future events.

"The federation told me, they’ll ensure I don’t miss out on a lot of competitions," Sehrawat, who was found 1.7kg overweight in Zagreb added.

The three-month period since missing the World Championships until the ban was revoked was tough. What helped him push through was constant training to keep himself fit.

"The training was underway with full intensity despite the ban," said Sehrawat.

"I kept telling myself not to think too much of it. Ups and downs are a part of sports…these things keep happening. I’ve done well so far and if god wishes, I’ll continue to keep doing well," he further added.

The lack of active competitions over the last few months meant that Sehrawat found it challenging to maintain weight. He competed in the 61kg category at the 2025 Wrestling Nationals – up from his usual 57kg.

"After the world championships, this is my first tournament. Even at the world championships, I did not fight. It was just the trials that I competed in," he said.

"We thought this [Nationals] is a good event to test myself in and compete after a long time. There is also the PWL [Pro Wrestling League] coming up next year, so we just wanted to ensure I am in a good shape," he further explained.

Despite the change in weight category, Sehrawat was barely troubled at the National Championships. He also fought three bouts with an injury after the quarter-final bout against Lalit left him bleeding from the left eyebrow.

"Injuries are normal in wrestling. There’s nothing too much to read into this," he said.

"It took some effort to stop the bleeding once it started. But it was a good effort throughout," he added.

Sehrawat started his campaign at the 2025 National Championships with a 12-1 win over Kerala’s Adith Narayan before thumping Lalit 10-0 in the quarters.

He then beat Rajasthan’s Anuj Kumar 12-2 before returning with a heavily bandaged head to register a 10-0 win in the gold medal bout against Nikhil.

Eager to put what has been a challenging year behind him, Aman is now looking forward to the 2026 season with the PWL and Asian Games already on his mind.