Asian Games: Sujeet Kalkal beats Tajikistan’s Kudiev 10-9 from 2-9 down for 65kg wrestling gold

Sujeet Kalkal won the men’s freestyle 65kg gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Friday, October 2, beating Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev 10-9 in the final after one of the biggest comebacks of the Games.

Kalkal was trailing 2-9 with one minute and 40 seconds left on the clock. He then scored a series of takedowns to close the gap and sealed the gold with 11 seconds remaining, taking the bout 10-9.

The final followed an upset in the semifinal. Kalkal beat Japan’s Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka in a bout that ended 3-3. Kalkal was awarded the win on the basis of the tie-break criteria, which sent him into the gold medal match.

The gold is India’s first Asian Games wrestling gold since Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat won titles at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games. It ends a gap of eight years for India in the sport at the continental multi-sport event.

The result came a day after India’s Nitesh won silver in the men’s Greco-Roman 97kg category on October 1. Nitesh was the first Indian wrestler to reach an Asian Games Greco-Roman final in 64 years. He lost the final 0-4 to Japan’s Yuri Nakazato after beating Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganbaatar 9-0 in the semifinal. India’s Mansi Ahlawat also competed for bronze in the women’s 62kg category on October 1 after losing her semifinal 6-0 to Japan’s Nonoka Ozaki.

Kalkal’s gold was one of several golds for India on the same day. Boxer Lovlina Borgohain also won the women’s 75kg title on October 2, beating China’s Bao Ziyi 5-0.

In freestyle wrestling, wrestlers score points for takedowns and other technical moves, and a bout can be won on points or by technical superiority. When a bout ends level, the tie is decided on the tie-break criteria, as happened in Kalkal’s semifinal.

The Asian Games 2026 are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. Wrestling is one of several combat sports in which India has competed for medals at the Games, alongside boxing.

Wrestling match (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC0