CHENNAI: Days after the sports ministry revoked its suspension, the Wrestling Federation of India on Saturday conducted selection trials at the IG Stadium, New Delhi to pick the national team for the Asian Championships. The continental tournament is scheduled in Amman, Jordan from March 25 to 30.
Incidentally, the last trials the WFI conducted before getting mired in controversy was in August 29, 2022 to select the squad for the World Championships.
As this daily reported, Deepak Punia, who returned to the wrestling mat following a surgery in his left thigh last year, competed in the 92kg and clinched the gold medal to book a place in the team. Similarly, Antim Panghal won the trials in her pet weight category 53kg to return to the team since the 2024 Paris Olympics.
However, the 2024 Games bronze medallist, Aman Sehrawat, withdrew from the trials citing an injury. Rising wrestler Chirag won the trials in absence of Aman and will be representing the country in the 57kg.
"The selection trials were overseen by the WFI selection committee, including WFI president Sanjay Kumar Singh, vice president Jai Prakash, treasurer SP Deshwal, Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt. The WFI extended invitations to top wrestlers from across the country to participate in the trials, ensuring a highly competitive and transparent selection process. However, a few notable wrestlers, including Aman Sehrawat, were unable to participate due to injuries," read a press statement issued by the federation.
Other notable winners in the men's freestyle were Sujeet Kalkal, who clinched gold in the 65kg, Udit (61kg) and Vishal Kaliraman (70kg). In the men's Greco-Roman, Sunil Kumar made it to the team by winning gold in the 87kg. Paris Olympian Reetika Hooda made a comeback by beating favourite Priya Malik in the 76kg while Manisha defeated 2024 World Championships bronze medallist Mansi to win the 62kg trials.
The Indian wrestlers will depart for the championships in batches starting from March 23. The continental championships will see competitions in the Greco-Roman category followed by women's wrestling and men's freestyle.
"The WFI had sought a day from the United World Wrestling to make changes to the provisional entries sent earlier. The entries have been updated soon after the conclusion of the trials. The wrestlers will head to Amman in batches depending on their schedule in the event," a WFI official told this daily.
With little over a week remaining in the departure, the WFI decided not to hold camp for the selected wrestlers. "The national camp is not possible at the moment but it will be organised once the wrestlers are back from the championships," added the official.
The next big event for the Indian wrestlers will be the 2025 World Championships scheduled in Zagreb, Croatia from September 13 to 21. It should be noted that the participation in the Asian Championships is a must to qualify for the Worlds and the recent development has made sure that India will now not go unrepresented in the worlds.
A couple of days before the trials, Deepak had told this daily that the senior Worlds is his target this year. "I kept myself ready so now it's not difficult even though I am getting less than a fortnight to prepare for the Asian Championships. First thing first, I have to qualify for the tournament. After taking part in the event, I will try to camp in Russia for the World Championships. A medal there in my pet 86kg will stand me in good stead as the ultimate goal is the Olympics," he had said before the trials. With the selection done now, Deepak is expected to switch back to 86kg for the World Championships.