WFI, UWW intervention keeps wrestler Neelam's Worlds hopes alive

"Injury delayed my senior debut and I was desperate for the Worlds. I am thankful to the WFI for accepting the protest as now I can fight for a medal at the Worlds," added the wrestler.

Neelam will compete in the 50kg weight category at the upcoming World Championships (Photo: special arrangement)

CHENNAI: Wrestler Neelam was leading 5-3 in the dying seconds of her final against Ankush when the latter attacked her legs at the SAI centre in Lucknow on Monday. A lot was at stake as the winner of the 50kg bout was assured of a place in the national team for the World Championships. What transpired a few seconds later shattered Neelam's dream. Her opponent was adjudged the winner with the final score reading 8-5 in Ankush's favour.

"She sent the video of the bout to me. It was evident from the video that Neelam had won it and though Ankush earned two points from the leg attack, it was Neelam who earned the last two points while going for the counter-attack," Janardan Singh, Neelam's uncle and childhood coach, told this daily from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

They lodged a protest with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), which in turn decided to send the video to the world governing body, United World Wrestling (UWW), for review." The UWW also agreed to the protest and so the WFI decided to hold the retrial which was organised on Wednesday. Neelam won the bout 3-3 on criteria," said Jitendra Yadav, women's team head coach.

The timely intervention gave a new lease of life to Neelam's Worlds dream as she had already missed a major part of the last year to an injury. "I fractured my left hand while training at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) last year forcing me to skip the nationals. The rehabilitation meant I missed almost all the national and international events in 2021," Neelam told this daily. In 2019, Neelam represented the country in the Junior Worlds and Asian Championships and was set to graduate to the next level when the Covid-19 pandemic halted sporting activities across the globe. The untimely injury didn't help her cause either.

Done with her rehabilitation, Neelam bounced back to win 50kg gold in the 1st National Ranking Tournament in January this year. She then made her senior debut at Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov Tournament in Bulgaria and won silver. The 22-year-old won 53kg gold in the Federation Cup in the country and bagged 50kg silver at the U-23 Asian Championships in Kazakhstan.

"Injury delayed my senior debut and I was desperate for the Worlds. I am thankful to the WFI for accepting the protest as now I can fight for a medal at the Worlds," added the wrestler. The Worlds is scheduled in Belgrade, Serbia from September 10 to 18.