Sujeet Kalkal, an Indian wrestler, won gold in the men’s freestyle 65 kg event at the U23 World Wrestling Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia. In the final, he defeated Uzbekistan’s Umidjon Jalolov by a commanding 10-0 scoreline via technical superiority.
Kalkal’s victory came following a strong performance throughout the competition. He started with technical superiority victories of 12-2 over Moldova’s Fiodor Ceavdari and 11-0 over Poland’s Dominik Jakub. In the quarterfinals, he trailed early against Bashir Magomedov but returned to win 4-2, and in the semifinals, he defeated Japan’s Yuto Nishiuchi 3-2.
Prior to this performance, Kalkal had not won a world title, but he had won two U23 Asian championship golds (in 2022 and 2025) and a U20 Asian gold in 2022. His last visit at the U23 World Championships resulted in a bronze medal, thus this recent victory represents an improvement and a breakthrough on the global scene.
India won nine medals overall at the U23 Worlds, including one gold, two silver, and six bronze, with Kalkal’s gold standing out as the only top-place finish in men’s freestyle.
