Asian Games 2026 event is going good for India till now and a young wrestler adds another gold to that successful run for India. Sujeet Kalkal created history at Aichi-Nagoya after winning a gold medal at men’s freestyle wrestling in the 65kg category. Sujeet defeated Abdulmazhid Kudiev from Tajikistan by 10-9. Along with this victory he won the first gold medal in wrestling for India and made the gold medal tally of the country 15.

Who is Sujeet Kalkal?

Sujeet Kalkal is a young freestyle wrestler from Haryana who represents India in the 65kg category. He has already established his name in the India wrestling with his performances in junior and U23 level. Sujeet won the gold medal at 2025 U23 World Championships, whereas he also won a gold medal at 2026 Asian Championships. Winning the gold for the third time at Aichi Nagoya Asian Games 2026 is another major achievement of his career.

Sujeet Kalkal’s Journey to the Final

 At Asian Games 2026 Sujeet did a strong beginning of his campaign. He defeated Omar Zazai from Afghanistan by 13-3 in the qualification rounds and Abbas Ebrahimzadehssavadkouhi from Iran by 10-0 in the quarterfinal stage.

After this in the semifinal he faced Kotaro Kiyooka, the reigning Olympic champion from Japan. This bout was very close and both wrestlers ended at 3-3. According to wrestling criteria Sujeet was declared the winner thus securing his spot in the finals as well.

2-9 Down to 10-9 Victory

In the finals Sujeet faced Abdulmazhid Kudiev from Tajikistan. The beginning of the match was not in favor of Sujeet and he fell behind by 2-9. Expecting a comeback from such a situation is extremely difficulty but Sujeet never lost his focus in the match.

In the final phase of the match Indian wrestler adopted an aggressive approach. He scored points through consecutive takedowns and reduced kudiev’s lead slowly and steadily. As the time was getting low on the clock Sujeet’s comeback was getting stronger.

In the closing moments Sujeet completed a crucial takedown thus making the score 10-9. In the remaining time he just defended his lead and with the final whistle he secured a gold medal for India.

A Golden Debut for Sujeet

The performance displayed by Sujeet Kalkal at Asian Games 2026, we could see his consistency and pressure handling abilities. After a close semifinal with Olympic champion, doing a comeback of 10-9 from 2-9 in the finals was the most dramatic moment of his campaign. This victory was also important in context to overall Asian Games campaign as it helped India’s medal tally to reach 15. This was also special for Sujeet as this was hi Asian Games debut and he made this tournament a memorable on in his first appearance.