Sujeet Kalkal has emerged as one of the rising stars of Indian wrestling. Now, the 23-year-old is ready to make his Asian Games debut, heading into the competition on the back of an impressive 2026 season.
The wrestling event will be held from September 30 to October 3, with India sending a 15-member contingent. Olympic bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat and Asian Games 2022 silver medallist Deepak Punia headline the men’s squad, while Antim Panghal, a bronze medallist at the 2022 Asian Games, is among India’s medal hopes in the women’s event. India returned from the previous edition with six wrestling medals, one silver and five bronze.
This time, one of India’s leading medal contenders is Kalkal. He enters the Games in strong form and is among the leading contenders for gold in the highly competitive 65kg category.
“The preparations for the Games are going on good and let’s see how it goes. My body condition is also nice, there is no injury. Let’s see how the Asian Games goes. Our hard work is 100% and will give our best,” the 23-year-old said speaking to Reporter World ahead of the competition.
From Imlota to the world stage
Kalkal was born on November 5, 2002, in Imlota village in Haryana’s Bhiwani district. He grew up in a wrestling family. His father, Dayanand Kalkal, competed at the national level and encouraged him to take up the sport. Sujeet spent his early years training in Imlota before moving to Sonipat in 2021, where training alongside more experienced wrestlers helped accelerate his development. Kalkal won gold at the U23 Asian Championships in Bishkek in 2022 and weeks later he claimed the U20 Asian title in Manama, Bahrain. He also won a senior Ranking Series title in Tunis that year.
Kalkal has had a remarkable 2026 season so far. He began the year by winning the Zagreb Open in Croatia and went on to win another title at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in Tirana, Albania. All four of his victories in Tirana came by technical superiority. His Asian Championships triumph was the biggest senior title of his career, which he won after beating world bronze medallist Umidjon Jalolov 8-1. He rose to world No. 1 in the 65kg men's freestyle wrestling category in April. Kalkal, who is currently ranked No. 2, is yet to lose this year.
“2026 has been very good for me, I haven’t lost a single bout this year,” Kalkal said. “Asian Games scenarios are a little different from these competitions. In this, we have very different wrestlers; we have Olympic champions, world medallists. Mindset is not something different, but it is to give our 100% and win a gold medal for India.”
A strong field in Japan
World No. 1 Rahman Amouzad has opted to skip the Asian Games to focus on defending his world title. Kalkal, however, will still face a strong field in Nagoya. Jalolov will be among the familiar names, while three-time world medallist Ernazar Akmataliev of Kyrgyzstan and Iran’s Abbas Ebrahimzadeh are also in contention. But his major challenge would come from reigning Olympic champion and 2025 world silver medallist Kotaro Kiyooka, who will compete on home soil as he looks to claim the Asian Games title. Kalkal, though, is not interested in focusing on individual opponents.
“See, there is no bigger competitor powerful than us. But we also don’t consider anyone lesser or stronger than us. The strategy is simple: we want to beat everyone and win the medal. There are no specific strategies as such.” Having trained in Japan before, Kalkal is comfortable with the setting and believes he is ready for the challenge. “I have trained in Japan before and I don’t have any injury and I am very fit and I am really ready for Japan.”
‘I want to win gold’
With expectations growing around him, Kalkal prefers to view the attention as motivation rather than pressure. “It is motivation. Pressure has a negative impact on our performances. All the people who support me, I just want to thank them and hope they will continue giving blessings to me.”
Kalkal knows exactly what he wants from his Asian Games debut: gold. “Rest is up to God,” he said.
His men’s freestyle 65kg campaign begins on October 2. From the modest akhada in Imlota to the biggest stages of international wrestling, Kalkal’s rise has been swift. With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics also on the horizon, Kalkal will look to make his first Asian Games appearance a memorable one.
