The Asian Games direct entries for Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat were decided by the IOA ad-hoc panel without the approval of the national chief coaches. This decision is expected to be challenged by other wrestlers and their coaches.
The panel’s circular stated that the selection had already been made for the men’s freestyle 65kg and women’s 53kg categories, but trials would be conducted for all weight categories in each wrestling style.
While the panel did not mention Bajrang and Vinesh specifically in the circular, panel member Ashok Garg confirmed that they had been exempted from the trials. This exemption was given due to the wrestlers’ protest against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, resulting in their absence from international tournaments this year.
However, there are other wrestlers, such as Sujeet Kalakal and Antim Panghal, who have performed well in the same weight categories. Antim became India’s first U20 World Champion and won a silver medal at the senior Asian Championship this year, while Sujeet is the current U23 and U20 Asian champion, as well as winning bronze at the U20 World Championship.
The panel did not favor four other protesting wrestlers – Sakshi Malik, Satyawart Kadiyan, Jitender Kinha, and Sangeeta Phogat.
The Indian Olympic Association’s ad-hoc committee made this decision just four days before the trials to select the wrestling squad for the Asian Games, which are scheduled to begin on September 23 in Hangzhou, China.
The Greco-Roman and women’s trials are scheduled for July 22, while the men’s freestyle trials will be held on July 23.
Bajrang is currently training in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, while Vinesh is training in Budapest, Hungary.
The two top wresters, along with the other protesting wrestlers, requested time until August 10 to prepare for the Asian Games and World Championships trials.
The decision to exempt Bajrang and Vinesh from trials was made without the knowledge of the men’s free-style national coach, Jagmander Singh, and the women’s national coach, Virender Dahiya. Both coaches were in favor of conducting trials in all weight categories.
Parents and coaches of wrestlers in the 53kg and 65kg categories plan to take the matter to court, demanding fair trials.
The decision made by the ad-hoc panel has sparked frustration among parents of wrestlers, with one father stating that they will take the matter to court to ensure a fair trial for their children.
There is uncertainty surrounding whether the four protesting wrestlers – Sangeeta, Kinha, Kadian, and Sakshi – will be able to participate in the upcoming trials, as they are currently abroad for training and competitions. Sangeeta won a bronze in a UWW Ranking series event in Hungary, while Sakshi and Kadian are training in the US. Kinha is in Kyrgyzstan as a sparring partner for Bajrang.
Ad-hoc panel head Bhupender Singh Bajwa did not respond to calls, but in the circular, he mentioned that athletes or units with grievances against the selection trials directive can address their concerns to the ad-hoc committee.
Coach Gian Singh, a member of the ad-hoc panel, explained that the trials for the Olympic Qualifying World Championship will be held separately in August. He emphasized that everyone, including Bajrang and Vinesh, will be required to participate in those trials without any exemption. The details of the trials will be formulated by the ad-hoc committee.
The World Championship is scheduled to take place in Belgrade, Serbia from September 16-24. The top four wrestlers in each of the six Olympic weight categories will secure their spots for the 2024 Paris Games.
