CHENNAI: With a couple of its selected wrestlers (Deepanshu, 130kg Greco-Roman and Mukul Dahiya, 86kg freestyle) failing dope tests, the wrestling contingent for the Asian Games too has been reduced by two. Instead of 18 (six in each style including women wrestling), only 16 wrestlers will vie for medals at the continental games. Given the recent developments, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has decided to call back Mukul from Yerevan, Armenia where the freestyle wrestlers are attending an exposure-cum-training camp for the Asian Games.
"He (Mukul) will be asked to return," a WFI source told this daily. Notably, the federation, in consultation with the Sports Authority of India, had organised the overseas camps for its men wrestlers keeping the quadrennial event in mind. Like their freestyle counterparts, the Greco-Roman team has gone to Uzbekistan. However, as Deepanshu was caught in the dope net before the team left early this month, he was not the part of the touring squad, also comprising coaches and physiotherapists. The WFI also attempted to replace Deepanshu with Ronak Dahiya but it appears that the request was not approved.
"As per norms, it's difficult to replace an athlete, who has been out due to anti doping rule violation but we tried to make sure the weight category doesn't go unrepresented. We will try once again but it looks difficult," added the source. Notably, Mukul, who tested positive for a stimulant (Mephentermine), was a potential medal contender and his exclusion could hurt India's medal tally. He recently won a silver medal in the 2026 Asian Championships.
Wrestling is one of the few disciplines which has been regularly winning medals for the country in marquee events like Olympics and Asian Games. Indian wrestlers won six medals in the previous edition of the Asian Games including a silver. "These two incidents made us realise that there is a need to check movement of wrestlers, once they are selected for a big competition. Most of the time, these wrestlers leave the camp citing personal reasons and that's where the problem starts. The NADA till now has not informed us when Mukul was tested but we believe he must have been tested out-of-competition. We will come up with rules and regulations which will make it difficult for these wrestlers to leave the camp frequently," added the source.
Notably, in a similar incident, India's weightlifting contingent's quota was reduced by one due to Anti Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The team comprising 12 lifters trained in Birmingham for the CWG but the quota reduction meant only 11 could compete while Dilbag Singh, who was supposed to compete in the 94kg weight category, was withdrawn from the squad at the last moment.