CHENNAI: Wrestlers Mansi Lather (68kg) and Komal (59kg), who recently won a silver and a bronze medal each at the U20 World Championships held in Bratislava, Slovakia won women's selection trials in their respective weight categories on Monday. The trials were held at the IG Stadium, New Delhi to select the team for the U23 World Championships scheduled in Las Vegas, USA between October 12 to 18. The trials to pick the men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers will be held at the SAI Centre in Lucknow on Tuesday.
"The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Monday finalised the women’s wrestling squads for the upcoming U23 World Wrestling Championships in the United States, following the conclusion of high-stakes selection trials at the Indira Gandhi Stadium. The day-long trials witnessed intense competition across all ten weight categories, with grapplers from powerhouse wrestling states including Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh battling for places in the national contingent," said a press statement issued by the WFI.
"The athletes who secured the top position in their respective weight divisions will represent the country at the upcoming U20 World Championships, while the runner-up grapplers will join the national camp to ensure strong sparring support and squad depth," added the statement. The federation said that the selected wrestlers are scheduled to assemble for an intensive preparatory camp prior to their departure for the international tournaments.
The other winners are Parveen (50kg), Sweety (53kg), Ahilya Shinde (55kg), Neha Sharma (57kg), Neha (62kg), Vaishnavi Patil (65kg), Amruta Pujari (72kg) and Diksha Malik (76kg). The wrestlers who finished second are Priyanshi (50kg), Doli (53kg), Kajal (55kg), Simran (57kg), Anjali (59kg), Nitika (62kg), Anjali (65kg), Srishti (68kg), Tanu Sharma (72kg) and Manisha Bhanwala (76kg). Among them, Tanu too competed at the U20 Worlds and finished with a silver medal.
"The level of wrestling witnessed today at the IG Stadium demonstrates the incredible depth and strength of Indian women’s wrestling. Every bout was closely contested, proving how hard these athletes have been training. I congratulate all the winners and every wrestler who stepped onto the mat today. We are confident that this strong contingent will perform exceptionally well and bring glory to the country at both the Senior World Championships in Kazakhstan and the U23 World Championships in the USA," Sanjay Kumar Singh, the WFI president, said after the trials.