Asian Games 2026: Golden day for India as Sujeet, Parveen and Ankush seal 3 gold medals

India enjoyed a remarkable golden burst at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, October 2, as Sujeet Kalkal, Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal won three gold medals in a span of roughly half an hour.

The three victories came in quick succession across wrestling and boxing, giving India a memorable afternoon at the Games.

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Sujeet Kalkal scripts dramatic wrestling comeback

The golden run began with Sujeet Kalkal in the men's freestyle 65kg wrestling final.

Sujeet faced Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev and produced a stunning comeback to win the bout 10-9. The Indian wrestler was trailing 2-9 at one stage before reducing the deficit to 6-9 with just 1 minute and 15 seconds remaining.

He then scored a takedown to make it 8-9 before executing another decisive move with around 50 seconds left to complete the comeback and seal India's first wrestling gold of the 2026 Asian Games.

The victory was particularly significant in the men's 65kg category, which had previously been won by Indian wrestling stars Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang Punia in 2014 and 2018, respectively.

Parveen Hooda edges Chen in boxing thriller

Soon after Sujeet's triumph, Parveen Hooda added another gold for India in the women's 65kg boxing final.

Parveen faced Chen Nien-chin of Chinese Taipei, a Paris Olympics bronze medallist, in a closely fought contest. The Indian boxer eventually prevailed by a 3-2 split decision to claim the Asian Games title.

Parveen had entered the final after defeating China's Li Shu 5-0 in the semifinal. Her gold also capped a significant return to the top level after she had previously served a 22-month suspension following whereabouts failures and missed the Paris Olympics.

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Ankush Panghal completes India's golden hat-trick

The third gold arrived almost immediately after Parveen's victory, with Ankush Panghal completing India's remarkable run. Ankush defeated South Korea's Kim Minseong in the men's 80kg final, winning by a 4-0 decision.

The 21-year-old boxer had earlier defeated Uzbekistan's reigning 75kg world champion Fazliddin Erkinboev 4-1 in the semifinal to book his place in the final.

Ankush's victory also made him the first Indian male boxer to win an Asian Games gold since Amit Panghal in 2018.