Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 2 (ANI): Following his gold medal in the men's freestyle wrestling in 65 kg, Indian wrestler Sujeet Kalkal expressed happiness at his feat, saying that he went to the mat with a mindset of bringing a gold back to the country and did not lose hope till the end.
Kalkal secured a historic gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games 2026, defeating Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev in the men's freestyle 65kg final at Aichi-Nagoya on Friday. 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. This is India's first Asiad gold in wrestling since gold medals by Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat at the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 edition, as per ESPN.
Speaking to ANI after the win, Sujeet said, "Look, I stepped onto the mat with only one thought—that I had to bring gold for the country. I didn't lose hope until the very end, and by God's grace, the gold has come for the country."
On whom he would dedicate the medal, he said, "I dedicate this to my countrymen because their prayers are what help the most."
Reflecting on his bout and Asian Games campaign, the wrestler said, "Look, wrestling itself is overall tough. The opponents were also very tough—there was an Olympic champion among them and other very good competitors. By God's grace, everything went well."
He also credited the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) for their support.
"I thank them very much. Our president (Sanjay Singh) himself has come here, and they provided full support. I also thank all the countrymen who came here. From the Federation's side, there is a lot of improvement happening in wrestling, and in the coming years, you will see even more medals coming in wrestling," he added.
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.
Sujeet had earlier defeated Afghanistan's Sayed Omar Zazai in the round of 16 and Iran's Abbas Ebrahimzadehsavadkouhi in the quarterfinal. (ANI)
"Didn't lose hope till the end...": Wrestler Sujeet after remarkable comeback to win Asian Games gold
