Sujeet Kalkal came close to toppling Paris Olympics silver medallist Rahman Mousa Amzoud Khalili of Iran before bowing out with a narrow 5-6 defeat while other Indians crashed out without much resistance on the third day of the World Championship, here Monday. Sujeet appeared to be better than the 2022 word champion in terms of endurance as the formidable Iranian barely managed to finish the bout as the Indian had enough strength even at the fag end of the a gruelling men's freestyle 65kg quarterfinal.
Sujeet did not score any point, or rather make any move, in the first period in which both wrestlers used their upper body strength. As the bout progressed, the Iranian was gasping even as he led 4-0 at the beginning of the second period. Sujeet made a smart move to get his first take down. Realising that Rahman was losing steam, Sujeet made a right leg attack but it was the Iranian who scored on counter to take a 6-3 lead.
Just under 20 seconds to go and Iranian was barely managing to continue, Sujeet got another take down to narrow the scoreline down to 5-6. The clock stopped just at that time, bringing relief for the Iranian and frustration for Sujeet, who taped on the mat. Sujeet can bounce back in medal contention if Rahman makes the final. Sujeet beat Cavit Acar (15-5) from Turkiye and Kwan Jin Kim (9-2) from Korea before the quarterfinals.
Among other Indians in the fray, Vicky bowed out after losing his quarterfinal to Iran's Paris Games bronze medallist Amirali Hamid Azrapira. In the women's section, Nishu (55kg) lost to Japan's Sowaka Uchida, who has reached semifinals, keeping the Indian's repechage hopes alive.
In the 59kg, Sarika lost her pre-quarterfinal bout to Anastasia Sidelnikova, who later lost her quarterfinal, shutting the door on the Indian. Neha Sangwan had qualified for 59kg but Sarika replaced her when WFI suspended the former after her disqualification from U20 World Championship in Bulgaria last month, for being overweight.
