Nagoya: India’s Sujeet Kalkal clinched the men’s 65kg freestyle wrestling gold at the Asian Games on Friday, overturning a seven-point deficit in the final and defeating an Olympic champion on his way to the title.
Kalkal produced a remarkable comeback against Abdulmazhid Kudiev in the final, recovering from a 2-9 scoreline to secure victory and claim India’s first wrestling gold of this edition of the Games.
The Indian wrestler had earlier defeated Japan’s Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka in the semifinal, underlining his strong form in the competition. He also registered wins by technical superiority against opponents from Afghanistan and Iran during his run to the final.
The gold marked a major milestone for Kalkal, who made his Asian Games debut and capped a successful year in the men’s 65kg category with the continental title.
PM Modi congratulates wrestler
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Kalkal on his gold-medal performance, describing the final as a thrilling contest and the achievement as a memorable triumph.
In a post on X, the Prime Minister noted that Kalkal had secured India’s first wrestling gold of the Games on his debut and wished him success in his future endeavours.
