CHENNAI: Tired of waiting for selection trials as promised by the ad-hoc committee, wrestlers Vishal Kaliraman and Antim Panghal on Saturday warned of a massive protest if they were denied a berth in the national teams for the Asian Games and the World Championships.
The duo won the Asian Games trials in their respective weight categories last month. Ironically, the wins did not ensure them a place in the team for the quadrennial event as Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat were given a direct entry into the squad and the duo was kept as a standby by the ad-hoc panel consisting of ex-Wushu Association of India chief Bhupender Singh Bajwa and shooting coach Suma Shirur. Interestingly, Bajrang and Vinesh have not participated in any competition since September last year.
"We were told that trials will be held by August 10 and winners will be selected for Asian Games and the world championships. It did not happen. Then we were told that the newly-elected body of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will conduct the trials. Now the election of the WFI scheduled on Saturday has been postponed and so again there is uncertainty over the trials. We don't know if this is a deliberate ploy to not hold selections. How long should we wait for the trials?" said Vishal, who competes in the 65kg, the same weight category as of Bajrang.
Antim also questioned Vinesh's inclusion in 53kg wherein she won the trials. "This is injustice and we will fight till the end to get what is our right. Let them beat us in the trials and then go to the Asian Games and Worlds," she said.
With section 144 of the CrPC in force in the wake of Independence Day, the wrestlers said they are waiting till August 15 and will stage a protest if trials are not conducted by then. "When they launched the protest, they claimed they are fighting for youngsters and other wrestlers. Now what happened? They are the ones who are taking away the rights of the upcoming wrestlers. If the protest can get them a place in the team without trials, then even we can hold the protest. Our Sisai village (Hansi tehsil) is one of the biggest villages in Haryana. We are in talks with most of the khaps here. If the trials are not conducted soon then even we can hold the protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi after August 15," said Krishnan, elder brother of Vishal.
Krishnan said a trial should be held soon and winners from it should represent the country in both Asian Games and World Championships, which is also the qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics.