New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) With the Asian Games gold medal around his neck and the weight-cut diet officially over, Indian wrestler Sujeet Kalkal savoured the authentic Haryanwi desi taste. The 65 kg freestyle Asian champion revealed that after returning from Japan, he had eaten “mom’s made choorma and kheer” the most.
Sujeet handed India their first wrestling gold medal at the Asian Games since Bajrang Punia (65 kg) and Vinesh Phogat topped the podium at Jakarta 2018. He made a dramatic comeback from 2-9 down to beat Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev 10-9 in the gold medal bout.
Replying to the IANS during the press conference organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) about the first cheat meal, or Haryanvi dish, he had after coming back from Japan, the wrestler from Charkhi Dadri in Haryana, who trains in SAI Sonepat, said he misses his mother’s choorma a lot, as he stays away from home due to training and competitions.
“As soon as I returned, my mother sent choorma and kheer. I train in Sonepat away from home, so my mother keeps sending these things for me. After returning from Japan, I have eaten choorma and kheer the most. I miss choorma even in India because I don’t live with my mother and train away from home,” said Sujeet.
Sujeet has an unbeaten season so far in 2026, as he went to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, having won the 2025 U23 World Championships and the 2026 Asian Wrestling Championships in the 65kg category. He also clinched gold at the UWW Ranking Series in Albania in February.
But his success came after a few setbacks. In 2023, he had to take the legal route to the High Court just to get a fair trial for the 2023 Asian Games spot. The ad hoc committee running Indian wrestling at the time had instead given Bajrang a direct entry into the team.
Later, in April 2024, when Sujeet was travelling to Bishkek for the Asian Olympic Qualifier with fellow restl;er Deepak Punia, record rainfall and flooding disrupted flight operations in the UAE and left the pair stranded in Dubai. They eventually reached Bishkek shortly after the morning weigh-in had begun and were not allowed by the organisers to compete.
Reflecting on such heartbreaks, when asked what message he would give to the 2023 version of Sujeet, who was fighting for his rights in court, he replied, “Have faith in yourself and keep working hard. God may delay justice, but it is never denied… If we stay stuck in the past, our present will be hampered, nor will we perform well in the future. Let go of what is gone.”
Further speaking about his Parius hearbreak, Sujeet said he believes in being in the present and doesn’t focus much on what has gone.
“I don’t focus much on what is already gone. That was like a natural disaster—a flood came over there, and there was nothing we could do about it. Our job is to keep trying. Even when I was trailing in the final bout, my job was to fight until the very end. I put in all the power within me and won the gold for the country,” the 23-year-old wrestler said.
IANS
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