Asian Games 2026: Sujeet Kalkal, Ankush Panghal win gold within one minute; India hits 15 golds

PTC Web Desk:  India enjoyed a remarkable few minutes at the Asian Games 2026 on Friday, winning two gold medals within the space of just a minute.

Wrestler Sujeet Kalkal first clinched gold in the men's 65kg freestyle category with a dramatic comeback victory. Moments later, boxer Ankush Panghal completed the golden double by defeating South Korea's Kim Minseong in the men's 80kg final.

The two victories helped take India's gold medal tally to 15, while the country's overall medal count reached 75. India moved to fifth place in the medal standings.

Sujeet Kalkal stages stunning comeback

Sujeet looked to be heading towards defeat in the 65kg wrestling final after falling 2-9 behind against Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev.

With only around 1 minute and 40 seconds remaining, the Indian wrestler needed something special. He found it.

Sujeet began attacking relentlessly, picking up points through a series of takedowns. He quickly reduced the gap and moved to within one point of his opponent. Then came the decisive moment. With just 11 seconds left, Sujeet produced another takedown to collect two points. That took him to 10 points and put him ahead of Kudiev's nine.

The late turnaround sealed India's wrestling gold and gave Sujeet one of the most dramatic victories of the Games. His triumph also marked India's first wrestling gold at the 2026 Asian Games.

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Ankush Panghal follows with boxing gold

There was hardly any time to celebrate before another Indian athlete delivered gold. Ankush Panghal defeated South Korea's Kim Minseong 4-0 in the men's 80kg boxing final. Panghal controlled the bout with his movement and counter-punching and did enough to secure a clear decision from the judges.

His victory also ended a wait for an Indian male boxer at the Asian Games. Panghal became the first Indian male boxer since Amit Panghal in 2018 to win an Asian Games gold medal.

Three boxing golds for India

Ankush's victory capped a memorable day for Indian boxing. Earlier, Parveen Hooda won the women's 65kg final, beating Chinese Taipei's Chen Nien-chin 3-2 in a closely fought contest.

Lovlina Borgohain also added gold in the women's 75kg category, giving India another major boxing success on the same day. Her victory also put her alongside Mary Kom as an Indian woman boxer to win Asian Games gold.

With Ankush joining Parveen and Lovlina on top of the podium, India completed a three-gold haul in boxing on Friday.

A big day for Indian sport

The gold rush had started earlier in the day when India's women's recurve archery team won gold.

The combination of victories across archery, wrestling and boxing pushed India's gold tally to 15 and its overall medal count to 75.

For Sujeet and Ankush, however, the day will be remembered for a different reason. Their victories came almost back-to-back, giving Indian fans an extraordinary one-minute golden double at the Asian Games.