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Vinesh, Anshu headline wrestling nationals in Jaipur
With the event, Indian wrestling's focus will finally shift back to the mat
Six months before the Paris Olympics, Indian wrestling's preparedness appears to be way off the mark. For the sport that fetched India two Olympic medals in Tokyo, the situation, in 2024, is grim. Only one wrestler, Antim Panghal, has bagged an Olympic quota so far, and currently, there are not many who can be counted on to win a Paris berth.
Domestic wrestling activities came to a standstill last year following protests by top wrestlers against the then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. No national camp was organised and no domestic competition held in absence of an elected federation. Circumstances continued to remains adverse even after the election. As things stand, the WFI stands suspened by the Sports Ministry and IOA's ad hoc panel has the responsibility to look into administrative affairs of wrestling.
In this backdrop, the Senior National Championships, organised by the ad-hoc committee in Jaipur starting Friday, assumes greater significance. In a way, it is going to be the starting point for preparations towards Paris Olympics. Besides giving a peek into the form and fitness of wrestlers coming back from injuries, national campers will also be picked from these championships.
A week ago, the suspended WFI organised a National Championship in Pune, prompting the Ministry to declare it an "unsanctioned" event. Domestic powerhouses like Railways, Services, Punjab therefore skipped the event, while Haryana too was not present in full force.
Several wrestlers chose to compete in both the tournaments, unsure of who would call the shots in an Olympic year.
On the eve of Jaipur Nationals, ad-hoc committee chairman Bhupinder Singh Bajwa made it clear that only they have the mandate to organise domestic competitions and send teams for international events.
"Only Ad-hoc committee has been entrusted with the responsibility of submitting entries to participate in international sports events, " he said.
Indeed, nothing can be more positive for Indian wrestling than the focus finally shifting to the mat. The biggest name to feature in the three-day event is two-time world Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat.
Vinesh, one of the faces of the wrestling protest, will be returning to action after almost 15 months. She has not competed since the 2022 world championships in Belgrade where she won a bronze and thelLast year was full of emotional and physical turmoil for the gritty wrestler. While most of the first half of the year went in the unprecedented protest, her comeback in the Asian Games did not take off due to a knee injury. She has spent the last five months in rehab even while continuing to raise her voice against Brij Bhushan.
On the other hand, Antim Panghal has bagged an Olympic in her preferred weight class (53kg), The quota belongs to the country but Vinesh will have to return stronger to upstage her if selection trials are held.
The first step would be to asses herself in this competition. That is why Vinesh has chosen to feature in 55kg as she will not have to cut much weight.
"Vinesh is coming back after a long period and she will be better off competing in a higher weight class to avoid risk of injuries, said Railways women's team coach Kripa Shankar Bishnoi. "She has recovered from the knee injury and this event will help gauge her fitness levels. She is a world class wrestler and she has it in her to make another comeback."
Tokyo Olympian Anshu Malik is returning from injury too. The 2021 world championships medallist, by her usual standards, wasn't great last year. She lost to Sarita Mor in the trials for the Asian Games, and spent rest of the year tending to a ligament injury.
"When there is no domestic tournament, it is difficult to assess performances. The coaches are also not aware of fitness levels of players. This tournament will help us take a stock of the preparation, " said a national level coach.
With two Paris Olympic qualifiers still remaining, the focus will be on fresh faces in the Olympic weight division.
Some of the big names have given it a miss as they are either training abroad or preparing for the Asian Championships in April. In addition to Tokyo Olympics medallists Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya, Aman Sehrawat, Deepak Punia and Antim Panghal will also not compete in Jaipur.
