Sujeet Kalkal beats reigning Olympic champion on his way to wrestling gold

Sujeet Kalkal completed a remarkable comeback to win India's first wrestling gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games on Friday, beating Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev 10-9 in the men's 65kg freestyle final.

In Short

• Sujeet Kalkal fights back from 2-9 down to win Asian Games wrestling gold
• Kalkal beats Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka in a dramatic 3-3 semifinal
• India's 65kg title returns as Kalkal completes a remarkable comeback in Nagoya

Sujeet Kalkal had already beaten a reigning Olympic champion on his way to the Asian Games final. Then, with gold within touching distance, the Indian wrestler found himself staring at a 2-9 deficit against Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev. What followed was the kind of comeback that can define a career. Kalkal scored eight unanswered points to win 10-9 and clinch India's first wrestling gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games on Friday, turning a day of extraordinary challenges into the biggest title of his young career.

The victory came after Kalkal had defeated Japan's Kotaro Kiyooka, the reigning Olympic champion, in a tense 3-3 semi-final earlier in the day. The Indian advanced on criteria after scoring the bigger move, setting up a gold-medal bout against Kudiev. By the time he climbed onto the top step of the podium, Kalkal had overcome an Olympic champion and a seven-point deficit in the space of a few hours.

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For the 23-year-old from Haryana, the gold carried significance beyond the medal itself. Kalkal's journey had been interrupted by a painful Olympic setback in 2024, when he and fellow wrestler Deepak Punia were stranded at Dubai airport because of severe flooding. They reached Bishkek after the weigh-in for the Asian Olympic Qualifier had begun and were not allowed to compete. A month later, Kalkal also missed out at the World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul after surrendering a 2-0 lead against American wrestler Zain Retherford.

Those disappointments could have derailed his progress, but Kalkal kept moving forward. He continued to develop his game, competed overseas to train with wrestlers from different styles and steadily built a reputation in one of freestyle wrestling's most competitive weight classes. His breakthrough continued at the U23 level before he made the step up to senior wrestling and established himself as one of India's leading names in the 65kg category.

EIGHT POINTS THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

The final against Kudiev was a test of Kalkal's composure as much as his wrestling ability. The Tajik wrestler made the better start and opened up a 9-2 lead, leaving Kalkal with very little room for error. The Indian, however, did not allow the deficit to change his approach. He continued to look for openings, stayed aggressive and gradually began to wrest control of the contest.

Then the points started coming. Kalkal put together an eight-point burst that completely changed the bout, turning a seven-point deficit into a 10-9 lead. Kudiev could not find a response as the Indian held on to complete a remarkable comeback and secure the Asian Games title.

The gold also made Kalkal only the third Indian to win the men's 65kg freestyle title at the Asian Games, following Yogeshwar Dutt in 2014 and Bajrang Punia in 2018. India had been without the gold in the category since Punia's triumph in Jakarta, but Kalkal has now brought the title back.

Kalkal's route to the final had already demanded plenty from him. He began his campaign against Afghanistan's Sayed Omar Zazai and recovered from an early deficit to win 9-3. In the quarter-final, he produced a far more controlled performance against Iran's Abbas Ebrahimzadehssavadkouhi, winning 10-0 by technical superiority.

The semi-final against Kiyooka was different. The Japanese wrestler, competing in front of a home crowd, took an early 2-0 lead, but Kalkal fought back with three points in the second period. Kiyooka levelled the bout at 3-3, only for Kalkal to advance on criteria. It was arguably the biggest win of his career before the final itself.

THE OLYMPIC DREAM THAT SLIPPED AWAY

Kalkal's Asian Games triumph cannot be separated from what happened two years ago. He had been preparing for a shot at Paris 2024, but his Olympic qualification campaign was thrown into chaos before he could even compete at the Asian Qualifiers.

Kalkal and Punia had been stuck at Dubai airport for days because of the flooding and flight disruptions. When they finally reached Bishkek, the weigh-in had already started. The organisers did not allow them to compete, leaving Kalkal without a chance to fight for an Olympic quota.

There was another opportunity at the World Olympic Qualifiers in Istanbul, but that too ended in disappointment. Kalkal led Retherford 2-0 before losing the bout, bringing his hopes of reaching the Paris Olympics to an end. United World Wrestling later recalled how Kalkal responded to those setbacks by refusing to dwell on them, instead focusing on what he could improve.

That response has shaped the wrestler he has become. Rather than allowing the missed Olympic opportunity to define his career, Kalkal used the setback as motivation to sharpen his wrestling and seek tougher competition. He spent time training overseas in Mongolia, Russia and Japan, working with wrestlers who offered different styles and approaches.

FROM THE VILLAGE AKHADA TO THE ASIAN GAMES PODIUM

Kalkal's wrestling journey began in Imlota, Haryana, where his father Dayanand Kalkal, a former national-level wrestler, introduced him to the sport. His early training took place at the village akhada, where the facilities were modest and formal coaching was limited. Kalkal has recalled losing at district and state level before his wrestling began to take a more serious turn.

A move to Sonipat in 2021 proved to be an important turning point. Training alongside more experienced wrestlers exposed Kalkal to a higher level of competition and helped him mature technically. His father had also worked on his movement and technique from a young age, while Kalkal's time in different training environments later added further dimensions to his wrestling.

The results began to follow. Kalkal won a bronze at the 2022 U20 World Championships and continued his progress through the U23 ranks before claiming the U23 World Championships gold in 2025. His performances helped establish him as a serious contender in the 65kg category, one that had previously been dominated by Indian stars such as Bajrang Punia.

By 2026, Kalkal had moved firmly into the senior ranks. He won the Asian Championships title in the 65kg category and entered the Asian Games as one of India's leading medal contenders. He had already shown that he could compete with the world's best, but Aichi-Nagoya offered him the chance to turn that promise into a major senior title.

He did more than that. Kalkal beat a reigning Olympic champion in the semi-final, recovered from 2-9 down in the gold-medal bout and walked away with India's first wrestling gold of the 2026 Asian Games. For a wrestler who once watched an Olympic opportunity disappear because he could not even reach the mat in time, the journey to the top of the Asian Games podium could hardly have been more fitting.

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