On the third day of the World Wrestling Championships, India’s Sujeet Kalkal came agonizingly close to upsetting Iran’s Paris Olympics silver medallist Rahman Mousa Amzoud Khalili, before falling 5-6 in a tense men’s freestyle 65kg quarterfinal.

However, he has qualified for the repechage round after Rahman made the final.

Sujeet displayed remarkable stamina, particularly in the closing minutes when his Iranian rival was visibly tiring. The first period ended without Sujeet registering a point, as both wrestlers engaged in a physical battle of upper-body strength.

In the second period, Rahman surged to a 4-0 lead, but Sujeet responded with a sharp takedown to stay in contention.

A counterattack by Rahman pushed the score to 6-3, leaving Sujeet needing something special. With less than 20 seconds left, the Indian executed another takedown to narrow the gap to 5-6, but time ran out before he could complete the comeback.

Earlier in the tournament, Sujeet impressed with dominant wins over Cavit Acar of Türkiye (15-5) and Kwang Jin Kim of Korea (9-2).

Elsewhere, India’s campaign struggled. Vicky lost in his quarterfinal clash to Iran’s Amirali Hamid Azarpira, a Paris Games bronze medallist. He has also qualified for the repechage round.

In the women’s competition, Nishu (55kg) went down to Japan’s Sowaka Uchida, who progressed to the semifinals – keeping Nishu’s repechage hopes alive.

Meanwhile, Sarika (59kg) was eliminated in the pre-quarters by Anastasia Sidelnikova, and with her opponent exiting early as well, India’s run in that weight category ended.