Nagoya, 02 October (H.S.): Indian wrestler Sujeet Kalkal produced a remarkable comeback on Friday to win the gold medal in the men’s 65kg freestyle wrestling category at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Sujeet defeated Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev 10-9 in a thrilling final, overturning a seven-point deficit after trailing 2-9 at one stage. He scored eight unanswered points to complete an extraordinary turnaround and secure the gold medal.

Sujeet had to overcome several strong opponents on his way to the title. He opened his campaign with a 13-3 technical-superiority victory over Afghanistan’s Sayed Omar Zazai. In the quarterfinal, he defeated Iran’s Abbas Ebrahimzadeh 10-0 by technical superiority to book his place in the semifinals.

The semifinal proved to be one of the biggest tests of his campaign, as Sujeet faced Japan’s reigning Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka. After falling 0-2 behind, the Indian fought back strongly and levelled the bout at 3-3. Sujeet was then awarded the victory on criteria after registering the higher-scoring move, sending him into the gold-medal bout.

In the final against Kudiev, Sujeet found himself in serious trouble after conceding a 2-9 lead. However, the 23-year-old Indian refused to give up and launched a stunning late comeback. He reduced the deficit to 6-9 before a crucial takedown brought him within one point at 8-9. With only around 50 seconds remaining, Sujeet secured another takedown to move ahead 10-9 and held on to complete the victory.

The victory gave Sujeet his first Asian Games gold medal and India’s first wrestling gold at the 2026 Asian Games. It also restored India’s grip on the men’s 65kg freestyle category, after Yogeshwar Dutt won gold in the event in 2014 and Bajrang Punia followed with another gold in 2018.

Sujeet Kalkal, 23, is from Imalota village in Haryana. He comes from a wrestling family, with his father, Dayanand Kalkal, having competed at the national level. Sujeet began training at his village akhara before moving to Sonepat in 2021 to train alongside more experienced wrestlers.

His rise through the international ranks has been marked by a series of significant achievements. He won gold at the Asian Under-20 and Under-23 championships in 2022 and subsequently claimed gold at a United World Wrestling ranking series event in Tunis. In 2025, he won gold at both the U23 World Championships and the U23 Asian Championships. Earlier in 2026, he captured the senior Asian Championships title in the 65kg category, strengthening his credentials ahead of the Asian Games.

Sujeet’s victory marks a major milestone in his career and adds another gold medal to India’s campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar