India's Sujeet Kalkal produced one of the most dramatic comebacks of the Asian Games 2026 on Friday, winning the men's freestyle 65kg wrestling gold after beating Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev 10-9 in the final in Aichi-Nagoya.
Nine-two down, then eight straight points
Kudiev looked in complete control after racing to a 9-2 lead, but the 23-year-old Indian launched a stunning rally, scoring eight consecutive points to seal a 10-9 victory and claim the top step of the podium. The win adds to India's growing wrestling medal haul on Day 13 of the Games.
Olympic champion stunned in the semifinal
Kalkal's path to the final was arguably even more impressive. Earlier in the day, he defeated Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka of Japan 3-3 on criteria in the semifinal, having also beaten Iranian opposition on his way to the gold-medal bout. Overcoming the reigning Olympic champion on Asian Games soil marks the biggest win of the young wrestler's career.
India's Day 13 medal rush
The wrestling gold came amid a bumper Friday for India, which also saw women's recurve archery team gold, boxing titles for Lovlina Borgohain, Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal, and silver medals in the mixed and men's recurve team events. India's medal tally reached 75 — 15 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze.
Sources:
Economic Times: Asian Games Live Day 13
Business Standard: Asian Games 2026 Live Day 13
Nine-two down, then eight straight points
Kudiev looked in complete control after racing to a 9-2 lead, but the 23-year-old Indian launched a stunning rally, scoring eight consecutive points to seal a 10-9 victory and claim the top step of the podium. The win adds to India's growing wrestling medal haul on Day 13 of the Games.
Olympic champion stunned in the semifinal
Kalkal's path to the final was arguably even more impressive. Earlier in the day, he defeated Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka of Japan 3-3 on criteria in the semifinal, having also beaten Iranian opposition on his way to the gold-medal bout. Overcoming the reigning Olympic champion on Asian Games soil marks the biggest win of the young wrestler's career.
India's Day 13 medal rush
The wrestling gold came amid a bumper Friday for India, which also saw women's recurve archery team gold, boxing titles for Lovlina Borgohain, Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal, and silver medals in the mixed and men's recurve team events. India's medal tally reached 75 — 15 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze.
Sources:
Economic Times: Asian Games Live Day 13
Business Standard: Asian Games 2026 Live Day 13