Sujeet Kalkal rallies from 2-9 down to beat Abdulmazhid Kudiev and win 65kg gold at 2026 Asian Games
Sujeet Kalkal beat Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev 10-9 to win the men’s 65kg freestyle gold at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Friday, October 2, 2026, rallying from a 2-9 deficit with an eight-point run; earlier the Indian had defeated reigning Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka in a 3-3 semi-final, advancing on criteria.
The 23-year-old from Imlota, Haryana claimed India’s first wrestling gold of the 2026 Asian Games and ended the country’s wait for a men’s 65kg title at the Games; Yogeshwar Dutt (2014) and Bajrang Punia (2018) were the only previous Indian winners in this weight category. Kalkal’s path to the podium followed a turbulent period in his career, including missed Olympic qualification opportunities in 2024.
In the gold-medal match Kudiev opened up a 9-2 lead before Kalkal mounted his comeback, scoring eight consecutive points to overturn the deficit and secure a 10-9 victory; Kudiev was unable to respond as Kalkal held the lead to the final whistle. The turnaround was decisive in a contest that had appeared to be slipping from Kalkal’s control early on.
Kalkal’s semi-final win over Japan’s Kotaro Kiyooka was settled at 3-3, with Kalkal advancing on criteria after producing the bigger scoring move; Kiyooka had taken an early 2-0 advantage before Kalkal responded with three points in the second period and the bout finished level. That result set up the title contest against Kudiev.
Earlier rounds saw Kalkal recover from an early deficit to beat Afghanistan’s Sayed Omar Zazai 9-3 in his opening match, and then defeat Iran’s Abbas Ebrahimzadehssavadkouhi 10-0 by technical superiority in the quarter-final. Those wins provided momentum that carried him through the later stages of the tournament.
Kalkal’s rise has followed a development pathway that included modest beginnings at a village akhada under his father Dayanand Kalkal, a move to Sonipat in 2021 for higher-level training, a bronze at the 2022 U20 World Championships and a U23 World Championships gold in 2025. He also spent time training overseas in Mongolia, Russia and Japan to broaden his experience against varied styles.
His Olympic qualification campaign in 2024 was disrupted when he and Deepak Punia were stranded at Dubai airport during flooding and arrived in Bishkek after the Asian Olympic Qualifier weigh-in had started, preventing them from competing; a subsequent World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul ended with Kalkal surrendering a 2-0 lead to Zain Retherford and missing out on an Olympic berth. United World Wrestling later recalled how Kalkal responded to those setbacks by refusing to dwell on them, instead focusing on what he could improve.
Kalkal’s victory returns the men’s 65kg Asian Games crown to India and provides the nation with its first wrestling gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games. The result also completes Kalkal’s progression from junior and U23 success to a major senior title at this edition of the continental Games.