Indian wrestlers warm-up for 2020 Olympics qualifiers at Asian Championships
The Asian Wrestling Championships will offer the lesser-known Indian wrestlers a chance to stake their claim for a go at the 2020 Olympics.
Indian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya will be the biggest names at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2020, set to begin on February 18 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi.
The Indian wrestlers’ contingent will have as many as 30 grapplers - 10 each in the men’s and women’s freestyle events - with another 10 in the Greco-Roman event.
“We have high expectations from Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik, Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia to win gold medals in the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships,” Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh stated last week.
Bajrang Punia was the only Indian wrestler to win gold at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2019 and will look to defend his title in the 65kg category. He has been in good form in 2020, winning gold in the Matteo Pellicone Memorial in Rome, the year’s first ranking event.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who won the 61kg gold at Rome, and Deepak Punia, who has punched his 2020 Olympics ticket, will headline the 57kg and 86kg freestyle categories respectively. Youngsters Rahul Aware and Gourav Baliyan are the other Indian wrestlers to watch out for.
Sakshi Malik to compete in non-Olympic weight category
Rio 2016 bronze-medalist Sakshi Malik will grapple in the 65kg women’s freestyle at the Asian Wrestling Championships, a non-Olympic category.
The wrestler lost to Sonam Malik in the national trials in January and has sought another round to keep herself in play for the 2020 Olympics.
Her conqueror, the 18-year-old Sonam Malik, will be seen in action in the 62kg freestyle category and is eager to prove her worth after a below-par outing at the Matteo Pellicone Memorial last month.
Vinesh Phogat and Anshu Malik, who won gold and silver in the 53kg and 57kg respectively at Rome, will compete in those weight categories at the tournament, as will Nirmala Devi in the 50kg freestyle.
The Greco-Roman bouts will see Sunil Kumar in action in the 87kg category, as the Indian wrestler looks to add to his silver medal in Rome.
Why Asian Wrestling Championships is important for 2020 Olympics
While Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Deepak Punia are already eligible to grapple at the 2020 Olympics, the tournament will serve as an added incentive for other Indian wrestlers.
United World Wrestling, the sport’s governing body, has deemed that performance at the tournament will affect the world rankings and be considered for eligibility for the 2020 Olympics.
The Indian wrestlers will hope to perform well and impress the WFI enough to put themselves in contention to be in the Indian contingent for the Asian qualifiers, set to be held in March.
Schedule for Asian Wrestling Championships 2020
The tournament will see two days of action for each of the Greco-Roman, women’s freestyle and men’s freestyle events. The qualification rounds, repechage round and finals for five weight categories will be held on one day, with the same schedule to be followed for five other weight categories the next day.
The Greco-Roman bouts will be held on February 18 and 19, followed by the women’s freestyle on February 20 and 21, with the men’s freestyle scheduled for February 22 and 23. The draws for each of the events will take place a day before they begin.
Indian squad:
Greco-Roman: Arjun Halakurki (55kg), Gyanendra (60kg), Sachin Rana (63kg), Ashu (67kg), Aditya Kundu (72kg), Sanjan Bhanwal (77kg), Harpreet Singh (82kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Hardeep Singh (97kg), Naveen (103kg).
Women's Wrestling: Nirmala Devi (50kg), Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Pinki (55kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Sarita Mor (59kg), Sonam Malik (62kg), Sakshi Malik (65kg), Divya Kakran (68kg), Gursharan Preet Kaur (72kg), Kiran Bishnoi (76kg).
Freestyle: Ravi Kumar (57kg), Rahul Aware (61kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), Naveen (70kg), Jitender Kumar (74kg), Gourav Baliyan (79kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Satywart Kadian (97kg), Sombir (92kg), Sumit Malik (125kg).
Where you can watch the Asian Wrestling Championships 2020
Finals of all the events of the Asian Wrestling Championships will be broadcast on Star Sports First and fans can also live stream the tournament on Hotstar and wrestlingtv.in.
Schedule
(GR = Greco-Roman, WW = Women's Wrestling, FS = Freestyle Wrestling, Time = IST)
Tuesday, February 18
11:30 AM - Qualification (GR 55-63-77-87-130kg)
2:00 PM - Semifinal (GR 55-63-77-87-130kg)
3:00 PM - Repechage (GR 55-63-77-87-130kg)
6:00 PM - Final (GR 55-63-77-87-130kg)
Wednesday, February 19
11:30 AM - Qualification (GR 60-67-72-82-97kg)
2:00 PM - Semifinal (GR 60-67-72-82-97kg)
3:00 PM - Repechage (GR 60-67-72-82-97kg)
6:00 PM - Final (GR 60-67-72-82-97kg)
Thursday, February 20
11:30 AM - Qualification (WW 50-55-59-68-76kg)
2:00 PM - Semifinal (WW 50-55-59-68-76kg)
3:00 PM - Repechage (WW 50-55-59-68-76kg)
6:00 PM - Final (WW 50-55-59-68-76kg)
Friday, February 21
11:30 AM - Qualification (WW 53-57-62-65-72kg)
2:00 PM - Semifinal (WW 53-57-62-65-72kg)
3:00 PM - Repechage (WW 53-57-62-65-72kg)
6:00 PM - Final (WW 53-57-62-65-72kg)
Saturday, February 22
11:30 AM - Qualification (FS 57-65-70-79-97kg)
2:00 PM - Semifinal (FS 57-65-70-79-97kg)
3:00 PM - Repechage (FS 57-65-70-79-97kg)
6:00 PM - Final (FS 57-65-70-79-97kg)
Sunday, February 23
11:30 AM - Qualification (FS 61-74-86-92-125kg)
2:00 PM - Semifinal (FS 61-74-86-92-125kg)
3:00 PM - Repechage (FS 61-74-86-92-125kg)
6:00 PM - Final (FS 61-74-86-92-125kg)