E-Paper
From Vinesh Phogat to Aman Sehrawat: How Indian wrestlers qualified for Paris Olympics
India have got six quotas for the Paris Games where Aman Sehrawat (57kg) will be the lone male wrestler in fray from the country.
The Wrestling Federation of India has announced that they will not hold trials for the selection of wrestlers for the Paris Olympics trials as the ones who have earned the Olympics quota will participate in the multi-sporting mega event. The board made the decision after five wrestlers wrote a letter to them requesting them not to hold the trials as it would affect their preparations for the Paris Olympics.
However, the decision ended the hopes of wrestlers like Ravi Dahiya, who failed to get the Olympics quota. Dahiya is returning from a knee injury as he lost to Aman in the selection trials for the two qualification competitions for the Paris Olympics.
Six Indian wrestlers will now participate in the Paris Olympics Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Antim Panghal (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg) and Reetika Hooda (76kg) in the women's category while Aman Sehrawat (57kg) will be the lone male wrestler in fray from the country.
Here's how the Indian wrestlers earned the Olympics quota
In the women’s 50kg category at Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers, Vinesh Phogat beat the Republic of Korea’s Miran Cheon, an Asian Championships bronze medallist, 10-0 via technical superiority in the qualifier.
Also Read | No selection trials in wrestling, quota winners get nod for Paris Olympics
Anshu Malik also obtained the quota during the same event in the women’s 57kg.
The 22-year-old Anshu beat Kyrgyzstan’s Kalmira Bilimbek Kyzy12-1 in the quarter-finals and later registered a big win by technical superiority (11-0) over Uzbekistan’s Laylokhon Sobirova in the semis to secure her quota.
Reetika Hooda, U23 world champion, outclassed South Korea’s Eunju Hwang, Mongolia's Davaanasan Enkh Amar and the People’s Republic of China’s Juan Wang to make the semi-finals of the women’s 76kg in the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers.
She later beat Chinese Taipei’s Hui Tsz Chang 7-0 in the quota bout to secure another spot for India in the Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, Nisha Dahiya secured the quota for women’s freestyle 68kg category at the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in Istanbul.
Another star Indian women's wrestler, Antim Panghal, claimed an Olympics quota for India in the women’s 53kg with a bronze medal at the World Championships.
Lone male wrestler in the list - Aman Sehrawat secured the quota in the men’s 57kg freestyle category at the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in Istanbul, Turkey.
Sehrawat, an U23 world champion, beat Chongsong Han of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 12-2 in the semi-final for India’s sixth quota in wrestling for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
