Eight competitions, six of them ending on the podium, five of them ending in a gold medal — that's wrestler Kajal Dhochak's 2026. Still only 18, Kajal has come of age on the wrestling mat, proving her mettle across under-20, under-23, and senior divisions in the 76kg Olympic class.
Fresh from silver on her senior World Championships debut in Astana, Kazakhstan recently, the wrestler from Lath village in Haryana's Sonepat district has already trained her sights on the next big challenge.
"I will come back with a gold medal from the next World Championships," she declared on Sunday. "I have had a good look at all my top competitors in Astana and I am sure I have what it takes to finish on top."
The 2027 edition of the Worlds will be held from September 11-19 in Las Vegas. It will be the first qualification event for the Olympics. It awards four quotas per weight class (total 72) to the National Olympic Committees of the medallists (gold, silver, and 2 bronze medallists).
India's women wrestlers have a dismal record at the Olympics, with Sakshi Malik's bronze in Rio 2016 being the lone podium finish.
2028 LA podium in her sights
{{/usCountry}}India's women wrestlers have a dismal record at the Olympics, with Sakshi Malik's bronze in Rio 2016 being the lone podium finish.
2028 LA podium in her sights
{{/usCountry}}Kajal is determined to change that. "Winning a Worlds medal gives me the belief that I can secure my qualification and also win an Olympic medal in 2028," she said.
A two-time under-20 world champion, Kajal carries with her the confidence that comes from a sublime junior career but is mindful of what's ahead of her. "Success at age-group level is great but for elite wrestlers, senior Worlds title is equivalent to an Olympic gold. There's a world of difference between competing in junior and senior divisions, but I think I have coped well."
Kajal's senior debut earlier this year got off to a rocky start when she lost to Turkey's Elmira Yasin 7-5 in the second round at the Tirana Ranking Series. Another early exit followed at the Senior Asian Championships in Bishkek where Kazakhstan's Gulmaral Yerkebayeva handed her a 5-3 defeat.
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The turnaround began with gold at the U-23 Asian Championships, followed by her first senior-level title at the Ulaanbaatar Ranking Series. She then won the U-20 Asian Championships without conceding a point, claimed another senior title in Budapest and capped the run by defending her U-20 world crown in Bratislava.
Five gold medals on the trot, Kajal entered the senior Worlds as a medal contender.
"My coaches and trainers believed in my abilities. Right from the national camp in Delhi's IG Stadium to Astana, they kept telling me that I have the potential to be the best in the world. I went into the Worlds with that mindset.
"Competing across weight categories meant I got enough match exposure. If you don't compete enough, no matter how good you are, you will be nervous going into a big event. That wasn't the case with me," added Kajal, who is supported by JSW.
No problem coming from behind
Her winning mindset was on show particularly in the semi-final against Kyrgyzstan's Aiperi Medet Kyzy, a bout in which she overturned a 1-7 deficit to win 10-7.
"I knew I could come back from that deficit," she said. "I kept telling myself there's enough time in the bout and all I need was one opening." That arrived in the second period and Kajal went on a takedown spree to seal the bout.
In the final against Ukraine's Anastasiya Alpyeyeva, Kajal had fought back to level the score at 4-4 and was ahead on criteria with 20 seconds remaining. But just when the gold seemed within reach, Alpyeyeva found an opening, scored twice and took an 8-4 lead. Kajal managed a late takedown but ran out of time, losing 6-8.
"I was certain of beating her. History was there for the taking. I was physically stronger, and I had beaten her twice in the Pro Wrestling League (PWL). But it wasn't meant to be. It wasn't my day, such is sport," Kajal, who counts Iran's three-time Olympic medallist Hassan Yazdani as her wrestling idol, said.
"I need to work on my defence while maintaining an attacking mindset. I can't give an opening to the opponent. If there's one thing I can change from that final, I'd say I'll take my chances in the final minute rather than getting into a defensive mindset."
Going easy in the closing stages cost Kajal a place in the Asian Games-bound team earlier this year where she led Priya Malik in the trial. "I could see the finish line and was already thinking of hugging my uncle (Krishan Malik, also her first coach) in delight when I lost in the final 2-3 seconds. It took me a couple of days to recover. I will channelise this World Championships defeat into something historic next year," she said.