Sujeet and Deepak forfeit as men miss out on the single Olympic quota

The Indian freestyle wrestling team did not win any medals during their dismal performance at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers.

On a somber note, Deepak Punia (86 kg) and Sujeet Kalkal (65 kg) were disqualified from the competition for arriving late for the required weigh-ins in the morning. According to The Tribune, the pair has been stranded at Dubai International Airport since April 16 together with coach Kamal Malikov during the storm that left the UAE devastated and flooded.

They were listed as forfeited in the results column even though they were able to get a late-night flight and arrived in time for the weigh-ins. They arrived ten to fifteen minutes before the fights began. According to a WFI official, WFI president Sanjay Singh asked the organizers to provide accommodations for the wrestlers but was informed there was nothing that could be done.

With the exception of Asian champion Aman Sehrawat (57 kg), none of the Indians competed in the other weight classes today in Bishkek and came close to securing a quota.

In the semifinals, Aman was defeated by fall by Gulomjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan. Only the winners were guaranteed quota spots.

Aman had earlier defeated Sunggwon Kim of South Korea 11-1 and subdued Yerassyl Mukhtaruly of Kazakhstan 10-0 to go to the semifinals.

The Uzbek jumped out to a 10-0 lead before pinning the Indian thanks to swift takedowns and a four-point throw.

Jaideep lost 2-2 on criterion points to Orozobek Toktomambetov of Kyrgyzstan in the 74kg division, while Deepak Nehra (97 kg) and Sumit (125 kg) fell 0-10 to Arash Yoshida of Japan and Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur of Mongolia, respectively.

During the World Olympic Qualifiers, which take place in a month, the Indians will have another opportunity to punch their tickets to the Paris Olympics.