Sujeet Kalkal defeats reigning Olympic champion en route to wrestling gold

Sujeet Kalkal has already beaten the reigning Olympic champion en route to the Asian Games final. Then, with gold within reach, he found the Indian wrestler staring at a 2-9 deficit against Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev. What followed was the kind of comeback that can define a career. Kalkal rattled off 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 win came after Kalkal edged Japan’s Kotaro Kiyook, the reigning Olympic champion, 3-3 in a tense semi-final earlier in the day. The Indian advanced on criteria after scoring a bigger move to set up a gold medal match against Kudiev. When Kalkal climbed to the top of the podium, he overcame the Olympic champion and a seven-point deficit in a matter of hours.

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For the 23-year-old from Haryana, the gold meant more than the medal itself. Kalkal’s journey was cut short by a painful Olympic setback in 2024, when he and fellow wrestler Deepak Punia were stuck in Dubai Airport due to major flooding. They arrived in Bishkek after the weigh-ins for the Asian Olympic qualifiers began and were not allowed to compete. A month later, Kalkal also missed out on World Olympic qualification in Istanbul after surrendering a 2-0 lead against American wrestler Zain Retherford.

These disappointments may have derailed his progress, but Kalkal continued forward. He continued to develop his game, competing overseas to train with wrestlers of various styles and steadily building a reputation in one of the most competitive weight classes in freestyle wrestling. 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 poise as much as his wrestling ability. The Tajik wrestler got off to a better start and opened up a 9-2 lead, leaving Kalkal with very little room for error. But the Indian did not let the deficit change his approach. He continued to find openings, remained aggressive and gradually began to gain control over the competition.

Then the points started coming. Kalkal put together a game-changing eight-point burst, turning a seven-point deficit into a 10-9 lead. Kudiev could find no answer 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, after Yogeshwar Dutt in 2014 and Bajrang Punia in 2018. India had been without a gold in the category since Punia’s triumph in Jakarta, but Kalkal has now reclaimed the title.

Kalkal’s journey to the finals already demanded a lot from him. He started his campaign against Sayed Omar Zazai of Afghanistan and recovered from an early deficit to win 9-3. In the quarter-finals, he produced a much more controlled performance against Iran’s Abbas Ebrahimzadehssavadkouhi, winning 10-0 by technical dominance.

The semi-final against Kiyook was different. The Japanese wrestler took an early 2-0 lead in front of the home crowd, but Kalkal rallied for three points in the second period. Kiyooka leveled the match at 3-3 only for Kalkal to advance on criteria. Before the final itself, it was undoubtedly the biggest win of his career.

THE OLYMPIC DREAM THAT WAS ERASED

Kalkal’s triumph at the Asian Games cannot be separated from what happened two years ago. He was gearing up for a shot at Paris 2024, but his Olympic qualification campaign was thrown into disarray before he could even take part in the Asian qualifiers.

Kalkal and Punia were stranded at Dubai airport for several days due to flooding and flight disruptions. When they finally arrived in Bishkek, the weighing had already begun. The organizers did not allow them to compete, and Kalkal was thus left without a chance to fight for the Olympic quota.

The next opportunity was at the World Olympic qualifiers in Istanbul, but that too ended in disappointment. Kalkal led Retherford 2-0 before losing the match, ending their hopes of reaching the Paris Olympics. United World Wrestling later recalled how Kalkal responded to these setbacks by refusing to dwell on them and instead focusing on what he could improve.

This reaction shaped the wrestler he became. Rather than let a missed Olympic opportunity define his career, Kalkal used the setback as motivation to sharpen his game and seek out tougher competition. He spent time training overseas in Mongolia, Russia and Japan, working with wrestlers who offered different styles and approaches.

FROM THE VILLAGE OF AKHADA TO THE PODIUM OF THE ASIAN GAMES

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 in the village of Akhada, where facilities were modest and formal coaching was limited. Kalkal recalls losing at the district and state levels before his wrestling took a more serious turn.

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

The results started coming in. Kalkal won bronze at the 2022 U-20 World Championships and continued his progress through the U-23 ranks before winning gold at the 2025 U-23 World Championships. His performances helped establish him as a serious contender in the 65 kg category, which was previously dominated by Indian stars like Bajrang Punia.

By 2026, Kalkal had firmly moved into the higher ranks. He won the Asian Championship title in the 65kg category and entered the Asian Games as one of India’s leading medallists. He had already shown 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 defeated the reigning Olympic champion in the semi-finals, recovering from a 2-9 deficit in the gold medal match to claim India’s first wrestling gold of the 2026 Asian Games. For a wrestler who once watched his Olympic opportunity slip away as he failed to reach the mat in time, the journey to the summit of the Asian Games could hardly have been more fitting.

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