CHENNAI: Yasar Dogu Ranking Series in Istanbul, Turkey is going to be the first international event for ace Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia since his bronze medal haul at the Tokyo Olympics.
The competition will also be the first for Vinesh Phogat since the 2020 Games but the Haryana wrestler will compete in 55kg instead of her regular weight category (53kg). The series is slated from February 24 to 27.
“Our wrestlers will start leaving in batches for the Ranking Series. The first batch comprising Greco-Roman wrestlers will leave on Tuesday morning,” Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), told this daily. Olympic silver medallist Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia will also be part of the Indian squad. Ravi had won a silver medal while Deepak had finished with bronze in the recently held Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov international tournament held in Bulgaria.
“Ravi and Deepak will continue competing in 61kg and 92kg respectively as they did in Bulgaria,” added Tomar. Women wrestlers are scheduled to leave on Wednesday while the freestyle grapplers will depart the next day.
Bajrang is unbeaten in the Ranking Series since 2018, winning five gold medals so far. The 27-year-old Haryana wrestler recently decided to train with Indian coach Sujeet Maan till the 2024 Olympics.
He had trained with Georgian Shako Bentinidis for three years before ending the relationship after the Tokyo Games.
The WFI had chosen gold medallists from the 2021 senior nationals to represent the country in the Turkey event. Earlier, the gold medallists of the 1st Open Ranking Tournament held last month were given an opportunity to compete in the Bulgaria event.
The Ranking Series will help Indian wrestlers to accumulate points and earn seedings for the World Championships scheduled in Belgrade, Serbia in September.
It will also help them prepare for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games scheduled in August and September, respectively, this year.