NEW DELHI: The last time Sujeet Kalkal came close to an Olympic dream, he never even got the chance to step on the mat.Now, as he prepares for his maiden Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, the 23-year-old wrestler is looking at the continental event as the first major marker of a new Olympic journey – one that he hopes will eventually take him to Los Angeles in 2028.“Asaan nahi tha, bhaisaab. Fir se start kiya hai, haar nahi maanunga. Olympics to sapna hai, poora karna hai bass [It wasn’t easy. I’ve started again, and I won’t give up. The Olympics is a dream, and I have to fulfil it, that’s all],” Sujeet told TimesofIndia.com ahead of the Asian Games.There is reason for that confidence. Sujeet enters Aichi-Nagoya having established himself among the leading wrestlers in the 65kg category. He won the Asian Championships in Bishkek earlier this year and has continued to build his credentials in 2026. He also won the 65kg selection trials for the Senior World Championships in Lucknow last week, beating Anuj Kumar 8-3 in the final.The Asian Games, however, will present a different test. Sujeet’s 65kg category features some of the biggest names in Asian wrestling, including Japan’s Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka.Sujeet’s competition starts from October 2, when the men’s freestyle 65kg, 86kg and 125kg categories will be contested.For Sujeet, the Asian Games is more than just another tournament. It is a fresh start for the wrestler from Imlota village in Haryana’s Bhiwani district.“I was very happy to qualify [for the Asian Games] . It is a fresh start, and I will not disappoint. Behind this success is the hard work of my father, my coach and my entire team. I am in good form. I will come back with the gold medal,” Sujeet said.“The 65kg category is a very challenging and competitive weight category. The world’s best wrestlers always compete in this category. But I have complete faith in my hard work and preparation. My entire focus is only on gold, brother. I have worked very hard,” he added.It will also be a chance to measure how far he has travelled since April 2024, when a three-day ordeal at Dubai International Airport ended his first Olympic campaign before it had even begun.
Three days at Dubai Airport
It was April 2024. Sujeet was at Dubai International Airport, waiting to continue his journey to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where he was scheduled to compete in the Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament.But record rainfall had caused floods in Dubai and badly disrupted air travel.Sujeet was stranded at the airport. He could see water everywhere and could only pray that the situation would improve so he could travel to Bishkek, where the qualifiers were scheduled to take place.Sujeet could only watch the time, calculate the days and hours on his fingers, and then sit back. His connecting flight was delayed and eventually remained stranded at the airport for three days.A flight was finally arranged, but by the time he reached Kyrgyzstan and then the venue, it was one and a half hours after the weigh-in had been completed.The Wrestling Federation of India and officials tried their best to find a way to get Sujeet into the competition. But the United World Wrestling rules left them with no option.The opportunity was gone.“I felt very bad. I have no words. It was four years of hard work, and it all ended in that one moment. I was in good form, and everything was over in a moment. I cried alone too, but I had faith in God. I explained things to myself and returned to India,” Sujeet said.
Father’s words gave him strength
Sujeet returned to India devastated. At home, his father Dayanand was waiting for him. Dayanand, a former Greco-Roman wrestler, knew what his son was going through.Sujeet immediately hugged his father. He became emotional and had his father’s shoulder to cry on.His father hugged him and told him: “Koi nahi beta, fir se mehnat karenge hum, Olympics khelna hai”.Those words stayed with Sujeet.‘I didn’t give up’Starting again was not easy, but Sujeet was adamant. He won gold at the United World Wrestling Ranking Series in Budapest in the men’s 65kg division at the start of 2025. He added two more gold medals to his tally in Zagreb and at the Tirana Grand Prix.
He then won a gold medal at the World U23 Championships in 2025 in Novi Sad, Serbia, followed by another gold at the Asian U23 Championships in Vung Tau, Vietnam.He didn’t stop there.Sujeet became Asian Champion after winning gold in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. With that gold medal finish, he also rose to the No. 1 ranking in the world.Now, he is set for his first Asian Games. A medal in Aichi-Nagoya would take him another step closer to his next big target – the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.“I didn’t give up. I have worked very hard. I have to go a long way. If I had competed in Paris, I would have been 21. I am 23 now. I will be 25 when the Los Angeles Olympics comes around. Age makes a big difference. But I don’t want to step back. My mindset is still the same — to win a medal for the country,” he said.
‘Haanikarak baapu’
For Sujeet, wrestling was never just a sport. His father Dayanand, a former national wrestling champion who also represented India at the World Championships, introduced him to the sport at a very young age. Sujeet was just five when he was pushed into the ‘akhaada’.
Dayanand could not go to the Olympics to represent India. Now, he wants his son to fulfil that unfulfilled dream.“Papa is very strict,” he says.“Wo dangal mein haanikarak baapu they na, wo waise hi kuch hain (laughs). He told me, ‘Son, you have to become a wrestler. A wrestler’s son should be a wrestler.’ I have learnt a lot from him since childhood. He is both my guru and my father. Whatever I am today is because of him,” he said.“His dream is to see me at the Olympics and see me win a medal. I will definitely fulfil this dream of my father,” Sujeet signed off.
