CHENNAI: Priya Malik had won a handful of international medals in age group events and also bagged a bronze on her international debut in senior category at the Asian Championship last year.
The impressive show meant the Haryana wrestler, who hails from Nidani village of Jind district, was considered the favourite to book a ticket for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Fate had something else in store for her as she injured her left knee to miss the selection trials held in March this year to pick wrestlers for the Olympic Qualifiers (Asian and World). Reetika Hooda, another wrestler from Haryana, not only made her way to the national team but also became the first woman grappler from the country to book an Olympic ticket in the heavyweight category. However, she lost in the quarterfinal in Paris, to return empty-handed.
On Sunday, Priya and Reetika were on the wrestling mat for a showdown at the Senior National Championship in Bengaluru and the prize was 76kg gold. A duel between them could not happen during the selection trials in March but it became the highlight of the day on the last day of the championship. Priya won the contest 10-0 (by technical superiority) to justify her favourite tag given to her ahead of the selection trials for the Olympic Qualifiers. "The injury kept her out for almost six months and the selection trials happened during that period. It was indeed a difficult time for her and us," Jaibhagwan Malik, Priya's father, told this daily.
Priya resumed training a couple of months after the trials and won a gold medal in the U23 Asian Championship in June. She had also clinched a gold medal each in the U20 World and Asian Championships last year. She might have missed the 2024 Olympics but the 19-year-old wrestler has her sight set firmly on the 2028 Games. "She will prepare for the Asian Championship scheduled in 2025. Before that, she will compete in the National Games scheduled early next year. The target is the 2028 Olympics and we will take one step at a time to achieve that goal," signed off the father.
Meanwhile, the national championship concluded on Sunday with the competitions in eight weight categories of women's wrestling. Haryana won the overall championship in women's wrestling with 235 points while Maharashtra (150) and Delhi (106) finished second and third, respectively in the team rankings.
Disciplinary action against RSPB?
The Wrestling Federation of India also held its annual general meeting on the last day of the competition. As the Railway Sports Promotion Board decided not to send entries for the tournament because the WFI remains suspended by the sports ministry, the federation discussed the issue in the AGM
"The RSPB even forced a wrestler to pull out after winning a bout. The issue was discussed in the meeting. The member units have authorised the WFI president Sanjay Kumar Singh to initiate action against the RSPB. Whatever decision he takes will be put before the executive board, which in turn will place it before the AGM for approval. A disciplinary action could be taken against the Railway as it is affiliated to the WFI and cannot skip the meet like this," a source keeping a track of the developments told this daily.
Non-participation could also hamper Railway wrestlers' chances of competing in the 2024 National Games. Besides, the WFI decided that selection for the future events and national camp will be based on the results of the Bengaluru nationals making it worse for the Railway wrestlers.
The WFI also asked its executive board to devise a strategy to prevent wrestlers from changing their states frequently for the competitions.