Sujeet Kalkal wins India's first wrestling gold at Asian Games, beating Tajikistan's Kudiev 10-9
Trailing 2-9, the 23-year-old scored eight straight points to win the men's freestyle 65 kg final and end India's wait for a wrestling gold.
Indian wrestler Sujeet Kalkal won the first wrestling gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games. The final of the men's freestyle 65 kg category was played on Friday at the Nagoya City Inaie Sports Centre. Sujeet beat Abdulmajid Kudiev of Tajikistan 10-9, ending India's wait for a wrestling gold.
Sujeet, 23, trailed 2-9 for most of the bout, and at one point Kudiev led 9-2. But Sujeet did not give up. In the closing moments he scored eight unanswered points and turned the match around. With this, India won its first gold medal of this edition of the Asian Games.
His journey to the final was also impressive. Along the way he beat an Olympic champion and strong opponents from Iran and Japan. He began against Afghanistan's Sayed Omar Jhajhai, going 0-3 down at first. He then scored with a push-out and a shoulder throw to lead 5-3. Another throw and a roll brought four more points. He won 13-3 on technical superiority to reach the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-finals he faced Iran's Abbas Ibrahim Dehsavadkohi. Sujeet won on technical superiority without conceding a single point.
The semi-final was a bigger challenge, as he faced Japan's Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka. At the end of the first period Sujeet trailed 0-2. In the second period he fought back to score three points, while Kiyooka managed only one. The bout ended 3-3, but under the rules Sujeet was declared the winner and secured a place in the final.
In the final he met Kudiev and again came back from a big deficit to win gold. It was a memorable moment for India.
