I’ll win until they can’t look away: Sohail Khan’s fight beyond the Kudo mat

In Bulgaria earlier this month, on a blue mat inside a quiet arena tucked away from India’s mainstream sports consciousness, a 25-year-old from Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, rewrote history.

Sohail Khan became the first Indian man to reach a final at the Kudo World Cup. He returned home with silver — and a point made.

This was not a lucky break or a one-fight wonder. Instead, it was built over two decades of shape-shifting between combat styles, enduring self-funded training camps, and quietly clocking wins in a sport that most Indians are still unaware of.

“Before this, India hadn’t even won a single fight at the senior men’s level,” he tells The Bridge, and his excitement is palpable.  

That fact is not a mere throwaway stat for Sohail. It was the fuel.

Back in India after his historic silver medal win, he cannot wait to share his journey, challenges, and what comes next.

“When I was training, I didn’t even dream of a medal. My first aim was to just win one fight at the world level,” he says. “That was the real pressure. Nobody from India had done it before.”

But he did. And then he kept going.

A gritty 1-0 win in the quarterfinal against Bulgaria, one of the most tactically demanding fights of the tournament, opened the door.

A commanding 4-0 performance in the semifinal slammed it wide open. And then came a final so intense, it had to be extended into a rare third round, the only match of the entire competition to reach that stage.

“I gave my 200%,” he says. “We had a plan for every opponent, France, Pakistan, Lithuania, all of them — and we stuck to it.”

The silver is India’s best finish in the senior men’s category at the World Cup.

But it is not just the medal. It is what the run revealed: that Indian athletes, even in fringe sports, are ready.

They just need a runway.

The sport where everything is allowed 

Kudo is not for the faint of heart. It is a modern Japanese martial art — a full-contact, hybrid combat sport that blends karate, judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing, wrestling, and more.

It is not the safer, point-based version of martial arts one get's to see at school-level events or in Olympic kata.

This is clinch, strike, throw, and finish. And it is played under rules stringent enough to allow fairness, but brutal enough to require nerves of steel.

“Boxing is just punches. Taekwondo, just kicks. Judo, only throws,” Sohail explains. “But Kudo? Everything together. Ground fight, striking, chokes, locks, it’s a complete fight.”

Sohail found Kudo after karate and taekwondo left him unsatisfied.

“In karate, I couldn’t use ground fighting. In taekwondo, I missed punches. When I saw Kudo for the first time, I knew this was my sport.”

His transition was guided by Dr. Mohammad Aijaz Khan, his coach and mentor. “He introduced me to the sport. Told me Akshay Kumar brought it to India, and I was like, okay, this is serious,” he laughs. “Kudo is real fighting — but with safety gear and structure. It gave me everything I was looking for.”

The lonely climb of an underfunded athlete

For all its technical glory, Kudo in India remains underexposed and underfunded.

The federation is officially recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs, which qualifies athletes for sports quota jobs in the government. And that is how Sohail now works as an income tax inspector in Mumbai.

But medals, even silver at a global event, do not guarantee support.

“I haven’t received any government support after the World Cup,” he says plainly. “Even before going, we had to pay from our own pockets. Flights, hotels, registration — everything. Around ₹2–3 lakh per athlete.”

The federation covers training kits and organizes free national camps. But for specialized sessions, like the one Sohail did in Guwahati ahead of the World Cup, the costs add up.

“I spent another ₹50–60k on that alone,” he says. “If someone had supported us financially, I could’ve done even more.”

Still, there is no bitterness in his voice. Just clarity. “If I’m not being talked about yet, it just means I need to win more. I take it as a challenge. I’ll work until they have no option but to notice.”

Fighting with and for something bigger 

Sohail recognises the challenges, and speaks of the gap between national and international standards, in a candid and 'matter-of-fact' manner. 

“Even our top fighters struggle at international tournaments because the level is completely different. It’s not about talent. It’s about exposure,” he says.

Kudo athletes in India participate in a few structured events — national championships, the Akshay Kumar International Kudo Tournament, and select continental competitions like the Eurasian Cup. But there is no league system. No calendar that mimics what boxing, wrestling, or judo athletes can access through the Asian circuit.

“Every extra match we get matters. But we need more,” he says. “Not just quantity, quality sparring, more time with international-level coaches, and support to compete abroad.”

His growth, from a 2017 junior World Cup gold to a 2025 senior World Cup silver, has mirrored that climb.

A quarterfinal exit in 2023, then bronze at the Eurasian Cup in early 2024, and now silver. “I’m still in my learning phase,” he says. “But I’m on the right track.”

Back home, his parents are not from sporting backgrounds. His father was once a watchman and later worked in the agriculture department.

“We’re a middle-class family. They didn’t know much about the sport, but they’ve always supported me,” Sohail says. “That’s all I needed.”

Now, he wants the system to catch up. Not just for him, but for the next kid from Sagar or Siliguri or Solapur trying to climb this mountain without boots.

“If India supports Kudo properly,” he says, “we won’t just fight. We’ll dominate.”

For now, Sohail will keep winning. Quietly. Ferociously. Until everyone is watching.