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Asian Games champion Sujeet Kalkal will be spearheading the Indian squad for the World Wrestling Championships to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 to November 1, as per Olympics.com.
The world meet will witness 10 weight categories each in men's and women's freestyle wrestling. Olympic medalist and recently-crowned Asian Games champion Aman Sehrawat and two-time World Championships bronze medalist Antim Panghal will be skipping the competition. Antim recently captured a silver medal at the Asian Games 2026; on the other hand, Aman is currently managing and recovering from shoulder and ankle injuries. Olympian Deepak Punia, who also secured an Asian Games bronze, will be missing the competition due to a shoulder injury. Sujeet, wrestling in the men's freestyle 65 kg category, will be India's biggest medal contender at Astana. The 23-year-old beat reigning Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka of Japan in the semi-finals and produced a stunning comeback against Tajikistans Abdulmazhid Kudiev in the gold medal bout at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, re-affirming his status as one of India's most exciting up-and-coming wrestlers. Sujeet recovered from 9-2 down and outclassed Kudiev 10-9 with a series of takedowns, adding the Asian Games crown to the Asian Championships and U23 World Championships titles that had made him a hot medal prospect in Japan. Sujeet is currently world number two in United World Wrestling (UWW) rankings, behind Iran's reigning world champion Rahman Amouzad. Amouzad did not feature in the Asian Games, but will be among Sujeet's rivals here at Astana. Only five out of India's 15 Asian Games competitors are coming to Astana for the world meet: Sujeet, Sagar Jaglan, Manisha Bhanwala, Sunil Kumar and Nitesh Siwach. Nitesh bagged the 97kg silver medal at Aichi-Nagoya, marking Indias first Asian Games silver in Greco-Roman wrestling in 64 years, while Sunils 87kg bronze etched his name in history as the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to win two Asian Games medals. Points from the 2026 Worlds will count towards seeding at the 2027 Ranking Series, continental championships and World Championships, making Astana relevant to the early LA 2028 Olympic cycle. India squad for World Wrestling Championships 2026Mens freestyle: Rahul (57kg), Nikhil (61kg), Sujeet Kalkal (65kg), Vishal Kaliraman (70kg), Sagar Jaglan (74kg), Sourabh Yadav (79kg), Pushpender Dalal (86kg), Sachin (92kg), Vicky (97kg), Jaspooran Singh (125kg) Women: Neelam (50kg), Nishu (53kg), Ahilya S Shinde (55kg), Neha Sharma (57kg), Manisha Bhanwala (59kg), Neha (62kg), Rajnita (65kg), Srishti (68kg), Tanu Sharma (72kg), Kajal (76kg) Greco-Roman: Lalit (55kg), Harsh (60kg), Sahil (63kg), Sachin Sahrawat (67kg), Karanjit Singh (72kg), Lovepreet Singh (77kg), Prince (82kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Nitesh Siwach (97kg), Joginder Rathee (130kg). (ANI)
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