All Eyes On Sujeet Kalkal As India Names Squad For Wrestling Worlds

Asian Games champion Sujeet Kalkal will spearhead the Indian squad for the World Wrestling Championships, to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to November 1, according to Olympics.com. The world meet will feature 10 weight categories each in men's and women's freestyle wrestling. Olympic medallist and recently crowned Asian Games champion Aman Sehrawat, along with two-time World Championships bronze medallist Antim Panghal, will skip the competition. Antim recently captured a silver medal at the 2026 Asian Games, while Aman is currently recovering from shoulder and ankle injuries.

Olympian Deepak Punia, who also secured a bronze medal at the Asian Games, will miss the competition due to a shoulder injury.

Sujeet, competing in the men's freestyle 65kg category, will be India's biggest medal contender in Astana. The 23-year-old defeated reigning Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka of Japan in the semifinals and produced a stunning comeback against Abdulmazhid Kudiev of Tajikistan in the gold-medal bout at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, reaffirming his status as one of India's most exciting emerging wrestlers.

Sujeet recovered from a 9-2 deficit to beat Kudiev 10-9 with a series of takedowns, adding the Asian Games crown to the Asian Championships and U23 World Championships titles that had already marked him as a strong medal prospect in Japan.

Sujeet is currently world No. 2 in the United World Wrestling (UWW) rankings, behind Iran's reigning world champion Rahman Amouzad. Amouzad did not compete at the Asian Games but will be among Sujeet's key rivals in Astana.

Only five of India's 15 Asian Games competitors will compete in Astana: Sujeet, Sagar Jaglan, Manisha Bhanwala, Sunil Kumar and Nitesh Siwach.

Nitesh won the 97kg silver medal at Aichi-Nagoya, securing India's first Asian Games silver in Greco-Roman wrestling in 64 years, while Sunil's 87kg bronze made him the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to win two Asian Games medals.

Points from the 2026 World Championships will count towards seeding for the 2027 Ranking Series, continental championships and World Championships, making Astana an important event in the early build-up to the LA 2028 Olympic cycle.

India Squad for World Wrestling Championships 2026

Men's Freestyle: Rahul (57kg), Nikhil (61kg), Sujeet Kalkal (65kg), Vishal Kaliraman (70kg), Sagar Jaglan (74kg), Sourabh Yadav (79kg), Pushpender Dalal (86kg), Sachin (92kg), Vicky (97kg), Jaspooran Singh (125kg)

Women: Neelam (50kg), Nishu (53kg), Ahilya S. Shinde (55kg), Neha Sharma (57kg), Manisha Bhanwala (59kg), Neha (62kg), Rajnita (65kg), Srishti (68kg), Tanu Sharma (72kg), Kajal (76kg)

Greco-Roman: Lalit (55kg), Harsh (60kg), Sahil (63kg), Sachin Sahrawat (67kg), Karanjit Singh (72kg), Lovepreet Singh (77kg), Prince (82kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Nitesh Siwach (97kg), Joginder Rathee (130kg)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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