Watch: Sujeet Kalkal’s momentous fightback from 2-9 behind to Asian Games 2026 gold

Sujeet Kalkal claimed India’s first wrestling gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Games

India’s Sujeet Kalkal mounted an incredible comeback to clinch the gold medal in the men’s 65kg wrestling event at the Asian Games 2026 on Friday, October 2. The 23-year-old wrestler secured a 10-9 win against Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev, coming back from a seven-point deficit in the gold medal bout.

This marked Kalkal’s first-ever Asiad medal, winning the men’s 65kg title. This was yet another achievement for the rising wrestler from Imloha, Haryana. He had already won four gold medals at the UWW Grand Prix as well as a gold at the 2026 Asian Wrestling Championships.

Kalkal had a brilliant outing at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. He defeated Afghanistan’s Sayed Omar Zazai 13-3 in the round of 16 before beating Iran’s Abbas Ebrahimzadehsavadkouhi 10-0 in the quarter-finals.

His biggest victory came in the semi-finals, where he defeated Japan’s reigning Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka 3-3 on criteria. The Japanese wrestler led 2-0 after the first period. However, Kalkal fought back with three points to level the bout at 3-3, and was awarded the victory on criteria.

Also Read: Asian Games 2026: Sujeet Kalkal stages stunning comeback to win 65kg wrestling gold

Sujeet Kalkal turns around gold medal bout

Facing Kudiev in the gold medal bout, Kalkal was under instant pressure. The Tajik wrestler controlled the bout early on, taking his opponent out of the ring for two points. He added two more points with a leg attack to go 4-0 ahead.

Kalkal fought back with a two-point takedown. However, Kudiev extended his lead to 5-2 before producing another takedown to make it 9-2, putting Kalkal on the verge of a final loss.

However, the Indian wrestler refused to give up on his dreams of a maiden Asiad gold. With around a minute and 20 seconds remaining, he fought back with a big takedown before hitting another two-pointer to cut the deficit to 6-9.

Kalkal continued to win consecutive points to tie the bout 9-9 before clinching the winning point to secure a 10-9 victory with just 11 seconds left on the clock. This clinched his maiden Asian Games medal, which was also India’s first wrestling gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

This was also India’s first wrestling gold at the continental tournament since Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat won titles at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games. Kalkal also became only the third Indian wrestler to win an Asiad medal in the men’s 65kg event, after Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang Punia.

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