Asian Games champion Sujeet targets senior world title in Astana with long win streak

Sujeet Kalkal leads a 30-member Indian team at the World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, where the 23-year-old aims for his first senior world gold and his 24th straight win.

Schedule And Team

The tournament starts on Saturday with Greco-Roman events, followed by women's wrestling and men's freestyle. India has sent ten wrestlers in each of the three styles, including multiple Asian Games medallists. Nitesh Siwach and Sunil Kumar spearhead the Greco-Roman team. Nitesh claimed a 97kg silver at the Nagoya-Aichi Asian Games to break a 64-year drought for India in that style, while Sunil took 87kg bronze to become the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler with two Asian Games medals. However, Olympic bronze winner Aman Sehrawat, two-time world bronze winner Antim Panghal, and Deepak Punia skipped the event.

Sujeet's Run

Sujeet competes in the 65kg division on October 29, with medal bouts the next day. His last loss was a close 5-6 defeat to Iran's Rahman Amouzad in the Zagreb World Championships quarterfinals last year. He has since strung together 23 wins in a row, taking titles at the Muhamet Malo tournament, Zagreb Open, Asian Championships, and U23 Worlds. His recent Asian Games run featured a win over Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka and a comeback victory over Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev. In Astana, he faces a tough field that includes Amouzad, former world champion Abasgadzhi Magomedov, Japan's Kaisei Tanabe, Bulgaria's Shamil Mamedov, and American Bowen Bassett.

Context

The World Wrestling Championships stand as one of the sport's biggest annual global tournaments outside the Olympic Games. Wrestlers must navigate demanding multi-round brackets against top international opponents over several days of intense competition. Sujeet's division is widely seen as one of the toughest in the entire sport.