India’s Sujeet Kalkal capped off a dominant run at the U-23 World Wrestling Championships with a 10-0 win over Uzbekistan’s Umidjon Jalolov in the men’s 65kg freestyle final on Monday.
The bout lasted four minutes and 54 seconds before the referee stopped the contest, declaring Kalkal the winner by technical superiority. It marked a career milestone for the Haryana grappler, who secured his maiden world title.
Before this win, Kalkal had already bagged two U-23 Asian titles (2022, 2025) and a U-20 Asian gold (2022). He had also claimed bronze at the same event last year — now bettering the colour of his medal with a flawless campaign.
Kalkal’s road to gold was marked by sheer dominance. He began with back-to-back technical superiority wins over Moldova’s Fiodor Ceavdari (12-2) and Poland’s Dominik Jakub (11-0).
In the quarterfinal, he rallied from behind to beat Bashir Magomedov 4-2, before edging Japan’s Yuto Nishiuchi 3-2 in the semifinal, courtesy of a decisive two-point throw in the final moments.
Earlier, the Indian women’s team delivered a brilliant performance in the same competition, securing five bronze and two silver medals to clinch the overall championship title.