Sujeet Kalkal’s 24-match winning streak ends in dramatic Wrestling World Championships loss
File picture: Sujeet Kalkal lost his men’s 65kg quaterfinal bout in World Championships. | Photo Credit: PTI
File picture: Sujeet Kalkal lost his men’s 65kg quaterfinal bout in World Championships. | Photo Credit: PTI
The World Championships jinx continued to haunt Sujeet Kalkal as the Indian wrestler’s remarkable year-long winning streak ended with a heartbreaking 3-3 criteria defeat to Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev in the men’s 65kg quarterfinals on Thursday.
Sujeet, who won seven titles over the past year, including the Under-23 World Championships, the 2026 Asian Championships and the Asian Games, suffered his first defeat since losing in the repechage round at last year’s World Championships in Zagreb.
The loss also dashed India’s hopes of producing its second men’s freestyle world champion after Sushil Kumar in 2010. Sujeet’s 24-match unbeaten run ended against the same opponent he had beaten in the Asian Games final, where he recovered from a 2-9 deficit to score eight consecutive points and clinch gold.
There was no repeat of that comeback on Thursday as Kudiev turned the tables in a dramatic finish.
After conceding the opening point for passivity, Sujeet took a 2-1 lead with a takedown five seconds before the end of the first period. Kudiev was subsequently penalised for passivity, allowing the Indian to extend his lead to 3-1.
The bout took a dramatic turn in the final 30 seconds when both wrestlers attempted takedowns near the edge of the mat. Sujeet was initially denied two points for his attempt, but the chair umpire overturned the decision. Kudiev was also awarded a step-out point, leaving Sujeet seemingly ahead 5-2.
However, the Tajik corner challenged the decision successfully. Sujeet’s two points were cancelled, while Kudiev received two points for his takedown to level the score at 3-3.
Sujeet could not find a decisive move in the dying seconds, allowing Kudiev to win on criteria by scoring the last point.
Earlier, Sujeet had beaten Switzerland’s Nino Leutert 12-1 by technical superiority before defeating Belarus’ Islam Guseinov 4-0.
Other results
In other results, Tanu Sharma advanced to the women’s 72kg bronze medal bout with a narrow 5-4 win over Tunisia’s Zainab Sghaier in the repechage round, while Srishti was eliminated after losing her women’s 68kg repechage bout to American Kennedy Blades.
Seasoned Manisha Bhanwala progressed to the women’s 59kg semifinals with a comfortable 6-0 win over Mongolia’s Bolortuya Khurelkhuu.
In women’s 55kg, Ahilya Shinde beat Cuba’s Yaynelis Sanz Verdecia 8-1, but squandered a 3-0 lead to lose 6-9 to Turkey’s Tuba Demir.
In the men’s 97kg, Vicky reached the last-eight with wins over Sarco Colmenarez (8-2) and Radu Letter (10-0) but lost technical superiority (2-12) to Japan’s Arash Yoshida in the last-eight stage.
Published on Oct 29, 2026
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