NEW DELHI: The Asian Wrestling Championships is set to commence at the IG Stadium here from Tuesday but a day prior to kick-off, the talking point was the government’s decision to not grant visas to the Chinese squad. A 40-strong Chinese contingent, which included 29 wrestlers, was supposed to be in attendance. While not granting visas can lead to major sanctions, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the decision was due to unprecedented circumstances.
“We cannot deny visas to citizens of any country because it is against the Olympic charter. We try to keep sports away from politics. But the situation now is regarding a major health concern and there are separate provisions for that. We can’t discriminate with anyone but cannot ignore serious issues as well,” Rijiju said.
In the past, denial of visas to Pakistan shooters and a boxer from Kosova had led to IOC issuing warnings to India and had also threatened to strip the country from hosting major competitions. But Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) does not fear any backlash from either International Olympic Committee (IOC) or United World Wrestling (UWW).
“We are not talking about political issues. This is a grave health concern and it is escalating as we speak. Other countries have done the same recently and many events have either been postponed or shifted. We do not anticipate any issues,” WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar said.
WFI revealed that the world body did not put any pressure on them regarding procuring visas for the Chinese and that their main headache was to ensure that the Pakistani contingent made it here. “If Pakistan was denied visas, things could have escalated. But in the end, it has worked out and that is what matters,” Tomar added.Several international events in China have been postponed, shifted or cancelled due to the virus outbreak.
Greco-Roman in focus
The six-day event, classified as a ranking tournament for the Tokyo Olympics by the UWW, will help Indian wrestlers hone their skills against the best of Asia prior to the Olympics.
A 30-member Indian contingent will take part with Bajrang Punia looking to defend his 65kg freestyle title while Vinesh Phogat will aim to better the 53kg bronze she won in the last edition. Youngsters like Deepak Punia, Anshu Malik will also be keen to make a mark. The first two days will see Greco-Roman wrestlers in action, followed by the women and the freestyle category.
In the last edition in China, India’s Greco-Roman wrestlers clinched four medals and according to chief coach Hargobind Singh, the squad has the potential to eclipse that mark. “We have worked hard. Our aim is to cross last year’s number.” Addition of foreign coach Temo Kasarashvili of Georgia has also helped.
India last hosted the meet in 2017. In the 2019 edition, India had won 16 medals, including the lone gold from Punia (65kg).
There will be a number of international stars as well, like Kenichiro Fumita, gold medallist at 2019 Worlds, and Nurislam Sanayev from Kazakhstan (freestyle). In Greco-Roman, wrestlers like South Korea’s Ryu Han Su (two-time world champion) and Uzbekistan’s Elmurat Tasmuradov (five-time Asian gold medallist) will be in action. Kyrgyzstan’s Aisuluu Tynybekova, 2019 world champion, will be the one to keep an eye on in the women’s section.
ASIAN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPs 2020
Feb 18
Greco-Roman 55-63-77-87-130 kg
Feb 19
Greco-Roman 60-67-72-82-97 kg
Feb 20
Women’s 50-55-59-68-76 kg
Feb 21
Women’s 53-57-62-65-72 kg
Feb 22
Men’s freestyle 57-65-70-79-97 kg
Feb 23
Men’s freestyle 61-74-86-92-125 kg