CHENNAI: Fearing for their safety, a few referees have requested Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to change the venue of the senior men’s trials scheduled in Sonepat later this month. Wrestlers including Bajrang Punia and Sushil Kumar are expected to attend the trials being organised to select the contingent for the World Championships. The World Championships, scheduled in Kazakhstan from September 14 to 22, will also serve as Olympic qualifiers.
The WFI had earlier announced that men’s trials will be held in Sonepat and women’s trials will be organised in Lucknow. The dates though have not been announced yet but the WFI wants it to be completed by this month.“Sonepat wrestling arena is not safe. It’s difficult to contain supporters, who get irked if their favourite wrestler loses. Indira Gandhi stadium in Delhi is safe as it’s not easy for supporters to jump on to the wrestling arena due to proper demarcation,” said a source privy to the development.
However, if one goes by past record, even Indira Gandhi stadium might not be safe. The venue witnessed ugly scenes when supporters of two-time Olympic winner Sushil and his rival in 74kg weight category Parveen Rana exchanged blows during the Commonwealth Games trials in December 2017.
WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar, however, claimed that men’s trials will be held in Sonepat. “We’ll hold the men’s trials in Sonepat. The dates will be decided soon but we’ll try to complete it by this month,” Tomar told this newspaper. Speaking on Sushil’s participation, Tomar said though the WFI hasn’t received any confirmation from Sushil but if he decides then the association will be more than happy. “If he is training in Russia, he must be having Worlds in mind. Let him decide then only we can say something for sure.”
The World Championships will feature competition in all weight categories unlike the Tokyo Olympics. The 2020 Games will feature competition in 18 categories — six each in men’s free style, men’s Greco-Roman and women’s wresting. The men’s freestyle will have competition in 57kg, 65 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 97kg and 125 kg while Greco-Roman style will offer medals in 60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg and 130kg. The women’s freestyle competition will be held in 50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg and 76kg.