Target Brisbane 2032: Wrestling in India gets a massive boost after good show in Tokyo
The Uttar Pradesh government has adopted wrestling in India and is expected to invest INR 170 crore for its development.
Wrestling has been a productive discipline at the Olympics for India, with the country's wrestlers winning at least a medal at every Olympics since Beijing 2008.
Most recently, India won two medals in wrestling at Tokyo 2020 with Ravi Kumar Dahiya winning a silver and Bajrang Punia getting himself a bronze medal. And those performances have seen the profile of the sport rise further in the country.
Now, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has been handed a massive boost after the Uttar Pradesh state government adopted the sport till Brisbane 2032 Olympics. It will see the state government invest largely in development of infrastructure and support the growth of wrestlers in the country.
“In a massive boost for Indian wrestling, the Uttar Pradesh government has adopted the sport and is expected to pump in an investment of INR 170 crore in infrastructure and support to the wrestlers till the 2032 Olympics,” WFI President Brijbhushan Sharan Singh told PTI.
The federation chief also highlighted that the deal will benefit the cadet level wrestlers in India and go into the grassroots development to produce more Olympic champions in the future.
"The sponsorships will not be restricted to just the country's elite wrestlers. Even the cadet level wrestlers will get sponsorship and we will be able to support even national champions."
The cadet and junior wrestlers are also expected to be given foreign exposure following the deal. It will take wrestling in India to greater heights believes the federation chief.
"As of now, only the senior and elite level wrestlers have personal coaches and guidance of foreign coaches. But we can even invest heavily in training our cadet and junior wrestlers also," the chief said.
"Now we can send our cadet wrestlers abroad for training and exposure. We need to take wrestling to the next level," he added.
The federation chief is also optimistic about creating an atmosphere in India that can accommodate the training for top international wrestlers in the country.
"Let me tell you that we will have state-of-the-art wrestling academies in India for both men and women. One academy in Lucknow will surely come up and we are hopeful that another is developed in Noida, where we will invite international wrestlers to come, stay and train with our wrestlers," he said.