NEW DELHI : Continuing their brilliance at the Asian Games 2026, the Indian contingent brought home another gold at the event as Sujeet Kalkal scripted a historic comeback to clinch the gold medal in the men’s 65 kg freestyle wrestling. Taking on Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev in the summit clash, Sujeet slipped early on but managed to register a brilliant victory.
It is worth noting that Kudiev led right from the get-go in the medal event, while Sujeet had beaten an Olympic champion to reach the final. Many expected a good showing from him in the final, but he was found lacking in the early stages of the clash.
In the early stages of the game, Kudiev threw Kalkal out of the ring, taking the first two points of the clash. Sujeet opened his account with a two-point takedown. The two wrestlers maintained their aggressiveness throughout the game, but Kudiev was proving to be too much to handle for the Indian.
With a minute and 40 seconds to go, Sujeet found himself down with a score of 2-9. Going for multiple takedowns, delivering three back-to-back takedowns and taking a one-point lead in the dying seconds of the clash, winning the gold medal.
Indian contingent continues to impress at Asian Games 2026
It is worth noting that October 2nd has been quite the day for India at the Asian Games. Kicking the day off with the first-ever women’s recurve archery gold, India followed it up with star boxer Lovlina Borgohain bringing home another gold medal, defeating China’s Bao Ziyi in the final.
Furthermore, Parveen Hooda defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chen in the women’s 65 kg boxing final to clinch India’s 13th gold at the event. This was followed up by Ankush Panghal defeating South Korea’s Kim Min-seong in the men’s 80 kg boxing final, taking India’s gold medal tally up to 15.
By the time of Kalkal’s gold medal, India’s medal tally sat at 75 medals, with the nation in 5th place in the standings with 15 golds, 25 silver medals, and 35 bronze medals to their name.
