Indian wrestler Sujeet Kalkal scripted a remarkable comeback to clinch the gold medal in the men’s freestyle 65kg category at the Asian Games 2026 on Friday.
Sujeet defeated Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev in the final, overturning a 2-9 deficit with just over a minute and a half remaining to secure the gold medal with 11 seconds left on the clock.
The Tajik wrestler made a strong start, taking Sujeet out of the ring for two points before adding two more with a leg attack to lead 4-0.
Sujeet responded with a two-point takedown, but Kudiev continued to score and extended his advantage to 5-2. He then managed another takedown and a four-point move to take a commanding 9-2 lead.
With around a minute and 20 seconds remaining, Sujeet launched his comeback with a big takedown. He followed it with another two-pointer to reduce the deficit to 6-9.
The Indian continued his relentless attacking approach, producing successive takedowns and completing the stunning comeback to win the bout with just 11 seconds remaining.
The victory marks India’s first Asian Games wrestling gold since Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat won gold at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.
Sujeet had earlier produced another major upset in the semifinal, defeating Japan’s reigning Olympic champion Kiyooka 3-3 on criteria.
Kiyooka led 2-0 after the opening period, but Sujeet fought back in the second period to score three points. With the bout level at 3-3, the Indian was awarded the victory on criteria for scoring the final point.
Sujeet had also defeated Afghanistan’s Sayed Omar Zazai in the round of 16 and Iran’s Abbas Ebrahimzadehsavadkouhi in the quarterfinal.
The gold took India’s medal tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games to 75, including 15 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze medals.
