HighLights
  1. Sujeet fell behind 9-2 with 1 minute and 40 seconds remaining in the final wrestling clash.
  2. He made a remarkable comeback, drawing 8 points in a row to clinch the first gold medal in wrestling in the 2026 Asian Games.
  3. Sujeet defeated Olympic champion Abdulmazhid Kudiev of Tajikistan in the 65-kg freestyle category.

Asian Games Wrestling Final: Indian wrestler Sujeet Kalkal on Friday clinched the first Gold Medal for India in wrestling at the ongoing Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya. Sujeet defeated Olympic champion Abdulmazhid Kudiev of Tajikistan in the 65-kg category final, bringing the gold back to India after four years.

Sujeet scripted a dramatic turnaround during the final, scoring 8 points in a row against Abdulmazhid Kudiev. Down and out at 2-9 with a minute and 40 seconds to go, Sujeet produced takedowns after takedowns, changing tides in his favour and sealing the gold medal with eleven seconds left. 

Sujeet's gold medal win also marks the return of the yellow metal to India after it was lost in 2022. In 2014 and 2018, Indian boxers Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang Punia clinched the wrestling gold medal in the Asian Games. However, Punia failed to defend the medal at the 2023 Asian Games.

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Abdulmazhid started on a positive note against the Indian, first throwing Sujeet out of the ring for two points, then getting hold of his legs for the other two, making it 4-0. However, Sujeet bounced back with a two-point move, with both putting on a show in attacking wrestling.

The Tajikistan wrestler continued to get points as Sujeet lost his balance during an attacking move and was down 2-5 in the first period of the fight. Abdulmazhid took Sujeet down, flipped him over for a four-point move, taking a 9-2 lead.

Sujeet managed a big takedown with a minute and 20 seconds left in the clash and followed it with another, cutting down the deficit to 6-9. The Indian continued to produce two-pointers, winning the bout with 11 seconds to go.

Sujeet also produced one of India's most notable results of the day prior to the title clash, defeating Japan's Kiyooka 3-3 on criteria in the men's freestyle 65kg semifinal.

Kiyooka, the reigning Olympic champion, led 2-0 after the first period, but Sujeet fought back strongly in the second to score three points. With the bout level at 3-3, the Indian was awarded the victory for scoring the final point and advanced to the gold medal bout.

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Sujeet had earlier defeated Afghanistan's Sayed Omar Zazai in the round of 16 and Iran's Abbas Ebrahimzadehsavadkouhi in the quarterfinal


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