Sunil had suffered defeat in the men’s 87-kilogram final last year, but made amends in front of a home crowd at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

The Indian star came from 8-2 down against Kazakhstan’s Azamat Kustubayev to win his semi-final match 12-8.

His reward was a gold-medal match against Kyrgyzstan’s Azat Salidinov.

An impressive performance saw Sunil celebrate a 5-0 victory to become India’s first Greco-Roman champion at the event since Pappu Yadav achieved the feat 27 years ago.

Kustubayev bounced back from his semi-final defeat to Sunil as he overcame Japan’s Takahiro Tsuruda in the weight division’s sole bronze-medal match.

Uzbekistan’s Elmurat Tasmuradov claimed the fifth Asian title of his career, with the Olympic bronze medallist triumphing in the 63kg event.

Tasmuradov eased to a comfortable 9-0 win over South Korea’s Son Jinseub in the final.

He was joined on the podium by Iran’s Meysam Dalkhani and Tajikistan’s Mubinjon Akhmedov, after the duo won their bronze-medal contests.

Dalkhani clinched a 2-0 win against Kazakhstani Yernur Fidakhmetov, while Akhmedov secured a victory by fall over Kuwait’s Mohammed Al Ajmi.

Iran enjoyed a successful opening day of competition, with Pouya Naserpour and Amin Mirzazadeh celebrating victories in the 55kg and 130kg events, respectively.

Naserpour emerged as an 8-0 winner over Uzbekistan’s Jasurbek Ortikboev in the 55kg final.

Kazakhstan’s Khorlan Zhakansha won the first bronze-medal contest 10-1 against Sahatsawat Phuangkaeo of Thailand, before India’s Arjun Halakurki beat South Korea’s Donghyeok Won 7-4.

Mirzazadeh delivered Iran’s second gold medal of the day, recording a 9-0 win over South Korea’s Kim Min-seok in the 130kg final.

Hosts India were denied bronze when Mehar Singh was beaten 3-2 by Kyrgyzstan’s Mansur Shadukayev in a close bout, while Kazakhstan’s Mansur Shadukayev earned the final podium spot by winning 9-1 against Japan’s Arata Sonoda.

Iran missed out on a third gold medal as Pejman Poshtam suffered a heavy 10-1 defeat to Kazakhstan’s Tamerlan Shadukayev in the 77kg final.

Kyrgyzstan’s Renat Iliaz Uulu won a 5-0 against Uzbekistan’s Bekhzod Umarov in the first bronze-medal contest, while Iraq’s Hussein Albidhan beat Kuwait’s Sultan Eid 12-4 in the final medal bout.

The next five Greco-Roman wrestling medal events will take place tomorrow.

The Championships have seen a reduced field with China, North Korea and Turkmenistan missing the event due to the coronavirus outbreak.