New Delhi, 29 October (H.S.): Indian wrestler Sujit Kalkal’s remarkable run of 24 consecutive victories came to an end on Thursday at the World Wrestling Championships, where he suffered a narrow quarter-final defeat in the men’s 65kg category against Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev. The bout ended 3-3, with Kudiev declared the winner on criteria after scoring the final point.

Kalkal had won seven titles over the past year, including the Under-23 World Championships, the 2026 Asian Championships and the Asian Games. The defeat was his first since losing in the repechage round at last year’s World Championships in Zagreb.

The setback also dealt a blow to India’s hopes of producing its second men’s freestyle wrestling world champion after Sushil Kumar, who won the title in 2010.

In a striking twist, Kalkal was beaten by the same opponent he had defeated in the Asian Games final to secure the gold medal. In that contest, he had recovered from a 2-9 deficit by scoring eight consecutive points to claim victory. However, he was unable to reproduce that comeback on Thursday.

Kalkal conceded the opening point after being penalised for passivity. He responded with a two-point takedown just five seconds before the end of the first period to take a 2-1 lead. Kudiev was subsequently penalised for passivity, extending Kalkal’s advantage to 3-1.

The final 30 seconds produced a dramatic turn of events, with both wrestlers attempting takedowns near the edge of the mat. Initially, Kalkal was not awarded two points for his attempt, but the chair umpire subsequently overturned the decision. Kudiev was also awarded a point for stepping out of bounds, and the score appeared to move to 5-2 in Kalkal’s favour.

However, Tajikistan successfully challenged the decision. Following a review, Kalkal’s two points were overturned, while Kudiev was awarded two points for a takedown, bringing the score to 3-3. Kalkal could not produce a decisive move in the closing moments, and Kudiev prevailed on the basis of the final-point criterion.

Earlier in the competition, Kalkal had defeated Switzerland’s Nino Leutert 12-1 by technical superiority before overcoming Belarusian wrestler Islam Gusenov 4-0 to reach the quarter-finals.

In other competitions, Tanu Sharma advanced to the bronze-medal bout in the women’s 72kg category after defeating Tunisia’s Zaineb Sghaier 5-4 in the repechage round.

In the women’s 68kg category, Srishti was eliminated after losing her repechage bout against American wrestler Kennedy Blades.

Experienced Indian wrestler Manisha Bhanwala progressed to the semi-finals of the women’s 59kg category with a commanding 6-0 victory over Mongolia’s Bolortuya Khurelkhuu.

In the women’s 55kg category, Ahilya Shinde defeated Cuba’s Yainelis Sanz Verdesia 8-1 but subsequently lost 9-6 to Türkiye’s Tuba Demir after surrendering an early 3-0 lead.

In the men’s 97kg category, Vicky reached the quarter-finals with victories over Sarco Colmenarez, 8-2, and Radu Lefter, 10-0. However, he was eliminated in the last eight after suffering a 12-2 technical-superiority defeat against Japan’s Arash Yoshida.

The spellings of Sujeet Kalkal, Abdulmazhid Kudiev, Nino Leutert, Islam Guseinov, Tanu Sharma, Zaineb Sghaier, Manisha Bhanwala, Bolortuya Khurelkhuu, Ahilya Shinde, Tuba Demir, Vicky and Arash Yoshida have been checked against available wrestling reports and tournament records. The championship is being held in Astana, Kazakhstan.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar