New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS): “Desh ke liye gold jeetna hi mere liye diwali hai hai,” said Asian Games 2026 gold medallist wrestler Sujeet Kalkal when asked how he will celebrate the festival of light after wrapping up his campaign at the Wrestling World Championships, to be held later this month from October 24 to November 1, in Kazakhstan.
Sujeet, reigning Asian champion, first defeated Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka of Japan in the 65 kg freestyle final at the Asian Games and then won the gold after mounting a sensational comeback from 2-9 down to beat Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev 10-9.
After his success in the continental showpiece, Sujeet is eyeing a gold in the UWW World Championships in Astana, which will conclude a week before Diwali. During a press conference organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Wednesday, the 23-year-old wrestler from Imlota village in the Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana, adorning the clam demenour, said winning the gold for the country was like a Diwali to him.
“Winning a gold medal for the country at the Asian Games—that itself is Diwali for me. I haven’t even been home for Holi or Diwali yet because there is always one competition or another. My father says that if you bring home gold, that in itself is Diwali and Holi. This time too, there will be a competition around Diwali, and if I win gold, that will be Diwali for me,” Sujeet said.
In the 65kg final at the Asian Games, Sujeet was trailing 2-9 at the end of the first period. With one minute and 40 seconds remaining in the gold medal bout, the Indian launched an extraordinary fightback to reduce the deficit to 9-8 before another two-point takedown to snatch the lead and clinch the gold medal.
Speaking about his thrilling turnaround, Sujeet said, “I couldn’t control the final bout in the beginning because I couldn’t warm up properly at that time. After that, I established a good grip in the second period, and every attack I attempted was successful. By the end of the match, I had covered all the points.”
Asked about his preparation for the World Championships and how the Asian Games gold medal win will boost his confidence, Sujeet said the UWW Worlds is tougher than the Asian Games and Olympics as well, and he will not be following any specific plan for his preparations but will be working on the ‘mistakes’ from the past.
“This is a very important competition, and it’s going to be even tougher than the Olympics. We don’t do any specific preparation. We just work on the mistakes made in previous competitions so that they aren’t repeated in the upcoming ones,” he said.
Sujeet, who trains at SAI Sonepat, had training exposure in Russia and Armenia before the Asian Games to prepare for the continental spectacle and world championships as well.
Sharing his experience from the foreign exposure, Sujeet said, “First of all, thanks to TOPS, SAI and WFI. Because of them, we get foreign exposures. Training plays the most important role in the medals we win. There were champions wrestlers in Russia; World Championship, Asian Games, and Olympic medallists were there, so there was a lot to learn, and we also competed there. It was a great experience.”
