CHENNAI: In a move that has put the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in a fix, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has not sanctioned the full list of wrestlers selected for the U-23 World Championships. As many as 30 wrestlers (10 each in men's freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's wrestling) — all gold medallists from the U-23 nationals held last month — were picked for the meet.
The SAI on Thursday selected seven wrestlers, whose cost will be borne by the government and asked the federation to nominate 17 more to ensure they also get the same benefits leaving out six from the list sent to it for approval. Besides, the SAI has also not sanctioned the complete list of support staff including coaches for the event. The Worlds is scheduled in Belgrade, Serbia, from November 1 to 7.
"All of them were selected after they won a gold medal each in their respective weight categories in the nationals. It's difficult to understand on what criteria the SAI has selected seven. It will also be difficult for the WFI to select 17 more and strike out the remaining six names from the list," said a source tracking the development.
Incidentally, a similar kind of treatment was meted out to shooters, who were named in the Indian squad for the Junior World Championship held last month in Lima, Peru. Out of 85 picked for the event by the National Rifle Association of India, quite a few were excluded from the list after failing to get government clearance. These excluded shooters had been asked to bear their expenses if they wished to compete.
Even if the government goes ahead with its plan to send selected wrestlers, the WFI will end up paying entry fees apart from lodging and boarding expenses to the organisers in advance. As per the athlete management system (ATHENA) of the world governing body, United World Wrestling, the national federation has to send entry at least a month prior to the commencement of the competition. It has to pay the entry fee before travelling for the event.
Given the situation, the WFI will not be able to book tickets unless the government sanctions the complete list. The first batch of wrestlers is expected to fly out on October 29.
"Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the WFI president, has spoken to the authorities concerned. Hopefully, the issue will be resolved in a day or two otherwise it would be difficult for the federation to select 17 wrestlers as was directed by the SAI," added the source.
Selected wrestlers
FS: 57kg Saurav, 61kg Suraj, 65kg Parvinder, 70kg Naveen, 74kg Praveen, 79kg Vicky, 86kg Sandeep, 92kg Gurdeshwar, 97kg Sahil, 125kg Mohit.
GR: 55kg Arshad, 60kg Vikas, 63kg Neeraj, 67 Ashukg, 72kg Vikas, 77kg Sajan, 82kg Rohit, 87kg Sunio, 97kg Deepanshu, 130kg Aryan Pawar.
WW: 50kg Shivani, 53kg Ankush, 55kg Anju, 57kg Nitika, 59kg Pushpa, 62kg Radhika, 65kg Nisha, 68kg Monika, 72kg Divya Kakran, 76kg Bipasha.