WFI selects an identical team for the last Olympic qualifying round
Lack of time to hold new trials has forced the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to choose almost the same team that participated in the Asian qualifiers in Bishkek for the final Olympic qualifying competition (May 9–13) in Istanbul.
Only the three wrestlers who were guaranteed quota spots in Bishkek—Vinesh Phogat (50 kg), Anshu Malik (57 kg), and Reetika (76 kg)—have been excluded by the WFI.
It has been reported that the WFI intended to hold new tryouts since it was dissatisfied with the Indian men’s team’s subpar performance in Bishkek. However, a WFI source said that the concept had to be abandoned because of the “very limited time” between the Asian qualifiers and the Istanbul competition.
Hardly any time was available for new experiments. Wrestlers could hardly have expected to drop two stone in such a short period of time. The insider said that they had to reduce weight twice—once for the competition and once for the trials.
There is a fair potential that Indian grapplers may get a few more spots at the Paris Games in Istanbul, where 54 Olympic quota slots are up for grabs.
According to United World Wrestling, “each category offers three spots to the Paris Olympics — one to the two finalists and one to the winner of the playoff between the two bronze medallists.” — PTI
Three young fighters confirm their medals.
Astana: Today in the Asian U22 & Youth Boxing Championships, Indian fighters Brijesh Tamta, Sagar Jakhar, and Sumit secured victory to advance to the semifinals and guarantee themselves a medal. Brijesh (48 kg) defeated Sabirov Sayfiddin of Uzbekistan after a fierce battle. It came down to the third round, which the young Indian boxer won 4-3 when the fight was reviewed, after both fighters had won a round each. Sagar (60 kg) and Sumit (67 kg) defeated Kalaseeram Thanaphansakon of Thailand and Hong Seo Jin of South Korea, respectively, in similar fashion, winning 5-0. Jitesh (54 kg) lost against Tulebek Nurassyl of Kazakhstan 0–5.
