Sujeet Kalkal credits Shako Bentinidis’s ‘attack first’ advice and dhobi pachhad for Asian Games 65kg gold

Sujeet Kalkal said during a Sports Authority of India interaction on Wednesday that foreign coach Shako Bentinidis’s instruction to attack from the outset and the addition of the 'dhobi pachhad' arm throw were instrumental in his gold-medal win in the men’s freestyle 65kg at the Asian Games in Nagoya on Oct. 2, 2026.

Kalkal, a 23-year-old making his Asiad debut, defeated Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev 10-9 after recovering from a 2-9 deficit in the final to claim the freestyle 65kg title; he was also named India’s male athlete of the Games. He described the coaching direction and technical changes during the SAI-facilitated interaction.

On his coach’s tactical shift, Kalkal said: “Since my attack is good, Shako asked me to attack from the first bout.”

Reflecting on work done after a Russia tournament, Kalkal said: “I competed in Russia where I won, but Shako was not happy. He said, ‘You don’t attack much.’ I worked on that. In the Asian Games, I attacked in every bout and scored as well.”

Kalkal said he incorporated the dhobi pachhad into his offensive repertoire and practised it repeatedly under Bentinidis’s guidance: “For (mastering) one technique, you need to practise it a lot so that you can show it in a competition. I thank Shako because he taught me this. I was interested, but couldn’t do it. He corrected me and made me practise it.”

He said he needed to capitalise on his strong ground wrestling during the final and noted a prior setback when he and fellow wrestler Deepak Punia were stranded at Dubai airport due to flooding and could not report for the Paris Olympics qualifier in Bishkek in April 2024; Kalkal said he has taken that episode in his stride while focusing on 2028 Los Angeles and has won four international gold medals this year.

Kalkal said he aims to perform at the World Championships in Astana this month and commented on the challenge they pose: “This competition is tougher than the Olympics (because of the quality and volume of athletes),” said Kalkal. He added a family perspective on celebration: “My father (Dayanand) says, ‘If you win a gold medal, then automatically we celebrate Diwali and Holi.’ I know there is a competition (Worlds) around Diwali. If I win a gold medal for India, then that will be Diwali for me.”