Indian free style wrestlers suffer a major blow by not qualifying for the Paris Games

Aman Sehrawat lost his semifinal match at the Asian Olympic Qualifier, which prevented him from qualifying for the Paris Games. Deepak Punia and Sujeet Kalkal were both disqualified from competing because they arrived late for the weigh-in on Friday, which was a major blow to Indian wrestling.

Aman, who was competing in the 57kg class, got off to a fantastic start, outlasting his first two opponents, Yerazsyl Mukhtaruly and Sunggwon Kim, with sheer technical dominance. However, after trailing by ten points, Gulomjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan eventually put Aman down.

There was a lot of optimism for Aman since he stood out as a potential star in a field where Ravi Dahiya was the best.

Aman, the bronze medalist from the Asian Games in the men’s freestyle division, had the nation’s best chance of earning a quota spot among all the wrestlers.

Abdullaev started out by attacking with his left leg and turned it into a takedown. With a spectacular four-point shot, the Uzbek startled Aman, and soon the Indian was under pressure to rally. It caused him to slow down, and Abdullaev’s ability to seize openings quickly helped him win the match.

Aman was stuck, seeming to have given up trying to escape Abdullaev’s grasp as he struggled at the edge of a circle.

Jaideep had a fantastic start at 74 kg, pinning Al Arslan Begenjov of Turkmenistan, but he was tied 2-2 and lost his quarterfinal match against Kyrgyzstan’s Orozobek Toktomambetov on criteria.

In the qualifying round, Deepak (97 kg) faltered against Arash Yoshida due to technical superiority, while Sumit Malik (125 kg) also lost his first round match against Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur of Kyrgyzstan.

This came after Punia and Sujeet, unable to report on time for the required weigh-in, ultimately made it to Bishkek after being stuck at the Dubai international airport from continuous rain and floods.

The Indian coaches requested a late weigh-in, but the organizers refused.

Sujeet (65kg) and Punia (86kg), who had almost medaled at the Tokyo Games, were on route to Bishkek when the bulk of the planes from Dubai were canceled or delayed due to floods at the airport.

Due to the problem in Dubai, the two, together with Russian coach Kamal Malikov and physiotherapist Shubham Gupta, were forced to sleep on the floor and were unable to have a healthy meal.

Punia and Sujeet chose to take a plane from Makachkala to Bishkek via Dubai after training in Dagestan, Russia, from April 2 to April 15.

When the women’s selection event starts on Saturday, Vinesh Phogat will be competing.

The second-to-last Olympic qualification tournament for Paris is the Asia Olympic Qualifiers. The World Qualifiers in Turkey in May will be the last opportunity to earn a spot in the Paris Games.