CHENNAI: Instead of accompanying teammates to Kazakhstan for attending a preparatory camp ahead of World Championships (from September 14), Vinesh Phogat has decided to stay back in India with her foreign coach. The women wrestlers left on Thursday, while the Greco-Roman team boarded the flight on Friday morning.
Apart from Vinesh, Pooja Dhanda and two other women wrestlers did not leave with the team. Pooja delayed her plan to attend the awards ceremony in New Delhi — she was nominated for Arjuna — while a visa issue prevented Lalita (55kg) and Komal Bhagwan Gole (72kg) from going with the team.
“The women’s team left on Thursday. Vinesh stayed back. She will prepare with her foreign coach. She has planned to leave for Kazakhstan on September 12,” Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) assistant secretary Vinod Tomar said.
Tomar also confirmed that three more women wrestlers, including Pooja, will join the team later. “Pooja wanted to attend the ceremony. The other two wrestlers, who made it to the final list of the Worlds in the last round of trials earlier this month, are expecting their visas by Monday.”
The men’s team is scheduled to leave on September 1, but it will also be without star wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sushil Kumar and Jitender Kumar. Bajrang and Jitender are training in Russia while two-time Olympic medallist Sushil is expected to leave soon. The trio will join the team in Kazakhstan ahead of the event. Like their women counterparts, two male wrestlers — Karan (70kg) and Parveen (92kg) — have also not received visas and are unlikely to accompany the team on Sunday. The World Championships is the first qualifier for the 2020 Olympics.