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Knee injury rules Ravi Dahiya out of Asian Championships
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist will be hoping to be fit in time for the world championships
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya has suffered a knee injury and will not be able to defend his title at the Asian Wrestling Championships to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan from April 9-14.
Dahiya has pulled out of the selection trials that will take place at the IG Stadium here on Friday. He injured himself during a practice bout at the Chhatrasal Stadium on February 6. Scans revealed grade 2 tears on his right knee in Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) and Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) .
The big relief is that it can be treated conservatively. However, in a year of the world championships -- scheduled in Serbia from September 16 -- which will also double up as qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Dahiya will hope his injury heals on time so that he gets enough mat time and be competition ready.
Dahiya's long-time physiotherapist Munesh Kumar says the injury will heal well in time before the world championships.
"Usually it takes 6-8 weeks for the MCL injury to heal. The MCL injury is slightly more than the ACL but it is a very important ligament for the stability of the knee, so we have to be very careful in planning his recovery," says Munesh, senior sports physiotherapist with Olympic Gold Quest.
Dahiya was examined by renowned orthopedic Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala initially while Heath Matthews and Kumar is overseeing his rehab in Bengaluru.
"He is doing only upper body exercises now and completely off the mat. He will go through another round of examination on March 18 and depending on how much the injury has healed we will decide on his comeback to the mat. There is a good chance that he will fully recover and come back well in time before the world championships," added Munesh.
Ravi last competed at the world championships in September where he shockingly lost in the first round to Uzbekistan’s Gulomjon Abdullaev in the 57kg. Before that, he won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
"We had planned to compete in the second-ranking series in Egypt (Feb 23) but had to withdraw because of the injury. We cannot take any risk because of the world championships and the Asian Games," said Dahiya's mentor Arun Kumar.
"Once his rehab is done, it will take another three-to-four weeks to come to a competitive level because it will take some time to get his mat balance back and we have to be careful during this period," Arun added.
Punia, Vinesh to skip trials
While Dahiya will miss the selection trials due to injury, Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sangeeta Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Jitender and Satyawart Kadian, who had protested against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), have decided against taking part in the trials. However, Anshu Malik and Sonam Malik will compete.
"We did not tell anyone whether to take part in the trials or not. It is their individual choice. As far as some of us are concerned, we have said that we will not compete unless the matter is resolved," said Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Punia.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Thursday allowed five wrestlers -- Anuj Kumar, Chander Mohan, Vijay, Ankit and Sachin Mor -- to compete in the trials. The wrestlers had moved court after being left out from the shortlist as per the criteria set by the Oversight Committee for the trials. The Oversight Committee is running the federation after its suspension. The two-day trials will see the wrestlers compete in 10 weight categories each in freestyle, greco roman and women's wrestling.
