“Haar nahi maanunga” (I will not give up). These three words serve as the battle cry for Sujeet Kalkal, a 23-year-old wrestling powerhouse from Imlota village in Haryana’s Bhiwani district. As he prepares to step onto the mat for his maiden Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, the grappler is not merely competing for a continental medal—he is signaling the true beginning of his crusade toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
For Sujeet, this journey is a testament to resilience. Having dominated the 65kg freestyle category with surgical precision, he heads to Japan as a genuine gold-medal contender. However, the path to this moment has been paved with heartbreak that would have broken a lesser athlete.
Three Days at the Edge of a Dream
In April 2024, Sujeet stood at the precipice of his first Olympic appearance. He was at the Dubai International Airport, transit-bound for the Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. What should have been a routine layover turned into a three-day nightmare.
Unprecedented record rainfall crippled Dubai, triggering massive floods and grounding thousands of flights. Sujeet watched helplessly as his window of opportunity narrowed, then slammed shut. When a flight was finally secured, he arrived at the venue just 90 minutes after the weigh-in had concluded. Despite frantic efforts by the Wrestling Federation of India to intervene, strict United World Wrestling regulations meant his dream was denied before he could even lace up his boots.
“I felt very bad. I have no words. It was four years of hard work, and it all ended in that one moment,” Sujeet reflected. “I cried alone, but I had faith in God. I explained things to myself and returned to India.”
The Strength of a Father’s Belief
The return to India was the darkest point of Sujeet’s career, but he found his anchor in his father, Dayanand. A former Greco-Roman wrestler who had once represented India on the world stage, Dayanand recognized the weight of his son’s grief.
“Koi nahi beta, fir se mehnat karenge hum, Olympics khelna hai” (It’s okay, son, we will work hard again; we have to reach the Olympics), his father told him. Those words transformed a crushing disappointment into a burning resolve. The elder Kalkal, whom Sujeet jokingly refers to as his own “haanikarak baapu” (the strict father figure popularized by the film Dangal), has been the architect of his son’s discipline since Sujeet first stepped into the akhaada at age five.
Dayanand, who never reached the Olympic stage himself, has funneled his unfulfilled aspirations into his son. “He is both my guru and my father,” Sujeet admits. “Whatever I am today is because of him. I will definitely fulfill his dream.”
A Golden Rebound
If the disqualification in Dubai was a low, the months that followed have been a masterclass in redemption. Sujeet didn’t retreat; he accelerated. Since 2025, he has embarked on a whirlwind tour of the podium, capturing gold at the UWW Ranking Series in Budapest, the Zagreb Open, and the Tirana Grand Prix. He solidified his status as a global force by securing gold at both the U23 World Championships in Serbia and the Asian U23 Championships in Vietnam.
His victory at the Asian Championships in Bishkek this year—the very location he failed to reach in 2024—was poetic justice, propelling him to the No. 1 world ranking in the 65kg division. Most recently, he punched his ticket to Japan by defeating Anuj Kumar 8-3 in a grueling selection trial.
The Aichi-Nagoya Challenge
The upcoming Asian Games, beginning October 2, will be Sujeet’s most significant crucible yet. The 65kg category is widely regarded as a den of lions, featuring the world’s elite, including Japan’s formidable Olympic champion, Kotaro Kiyooka.
“The 65kg category is a very challenging and competitive weight category,” Sujeet acknowledged. “The world’s best wrestlers always compete here. But I have complete faith in my hard work and preparation. My entire focus is only on gold.”
Sujeet’s trajectory is clear: he is building for the long term. While the Paris cycle brought only lessons, the Los Angeles cycle is now his primary objective. By 2028, he will be 25—the prime age for a wrestler to hit their athletic peak.
“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,” he said. “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.”
As the wrestling world turns its eyes toward Aichi-Nagoya, all eyes will be on the man from Bhiwani. Sujeet Kalkal has learned that the mat can be taken away in an instant, but he has proven that his grit is permanent. He isn’t just going to Japan to compete; he is going to reclaim the future he was promised.
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