Astana, Oct 29 (PTI) The World Championships jinx continued to haunt Sujeet Kalkal as the Indian wrestler's remarkable one-year winning

Astana, Oct 29 (PTI) The World Championships jinx continued to haunt Sujeet Kalkal as the Indian wrestler's remarkable one-year winning

Astana, Oct 29 (PTI) The World Championships jinx continued to haunt Sujeet Kalkal as the Indian wrestler's remarkable one-year winning

Astana, Oct 29 (PTI) The World Championships jinx continued to haunt Sujeet Kalkal as the Indian wrestler's remarkable one-year winning streak came to an end with a heartbreaking 3-3 criteria defeat to Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev in the men's 65kg quarterfinals here on Thursday.

     Sujeet, who won seven titles over the past year -- including the U23 World Championships, the 2026 Asian Championships, and the Asian Games -- suffered his first defeat since losing in the repechage round of last year's World Championships in Zagreb.

     The setback also dashed India's hopes of seeing its second world champion after Sushil Kumar (2010), with Sujeet's 24-match unbeaten run ending against the same opponent he had beaten in the Asian Games final.

     The Indian had staged a stunning comeback against Kudiev at the Asian Games final, recovering from a 2-9 deficit to score eight consecutive points and clinch the gold medal.

     But there was no repeat of that magic on Thursday as the Tajik wrestler turned the tables in a dramatic finish.

     Sujeet conceded the opening point for passivity but took a 2-1 lead with a takedown just five seconds before the end of the first period.

     Kudiev was subsequently penalised for passivity, allowing the Indian to extend his lead to 3-1.

     However, the bout took a dramatic turn in the final 30 seconds.

     As the two wrestlers battled near the edge of the mat, Sujeet attempted a takedown but failed to put Kudiev in a danger position. The Tajik countered with a takedown of his own.

     The mat referee did not award Sujeet two points for his takedown, but the chair umpire granted him two points. Kudiev was awarded a point for a step-out, leaving Sujeet ahead 5-2.

     The Tajik corner challenged the decision and won, with Sujeet's two points cancelled and Kudiev awarded two points for his takedown, bringing the score to 3-3.

     Needing a decisive move in the dying seconds, Sujeet could not find a way past Kudiev, who held on to win on criteria by virtue of scoring the last point.

     Before the quarterfinal, Sujeet began with a commanding technical superiority (12-1) win over Nino Leutert from Switzerland and followed that up with a 4-0 win over Islam Guseinov from Belarus.

     Tanu in bronze hunt, Manisha in semifinals

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     In other results, Tanu Sharma advanced to the women's 72kg bronze medal bout with a narrow 5-4 win over Tunisia's Zainab Sghaier in the repechage round, while Srishti was eliminated after losing her women's 68kg repechage bout to American Kennedy Blades.

     Seasoned Manisha Bhanwala progressed to the women's 59kg semifinals with a comfortable 6-0 win over Mongolia's Bolortuya Khurelkhuu, having earlier beaten Canada's Laurence Beauregard by fall.

     In women's 55kg, Ahilya Shinde beat Cuba's Yaynelis Sanz Verdecia 8-1, but squandered a 3-0 lead to lose 6-9 to Turkey's Tuba Demir.

     In the men's 97kg, Vicky reached the last-eight with wins over Sarco Colmenarez (8-2) and Radu Letter (10-0) but lost technical superiority (2-12) to Japan's Arash Yoshida in the last-eight stage.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)