New Delhi [India], February 8 : The Ad-hoc Committee of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) announced new dates for the U20 and U15 freestyle, greco-roman and women's national wrestling championships. The competition is now to be held in Punjab's Patiala.
In a recent press release, the Ad-hoc Committee confirmed that the U20 and U15 freestyle, greco-roman and women's national wrestling championships to start from February 28 and will conclude on March 5.
It also stated that the competition will now take place in Patiala and not in Gwalior.
The decision was taken since the State Association 'requested' to give them more time to prepare for the upcoming competition.
"The U20 & U15 Free Style, Greco Roman Style and Women Wrestling National Championship, scheduled to be held at the Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education Racecourse Road, LNUPE Campus, Shakti Nagar, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh from 11th to 17th February 2024 has now been rescheduled to be held at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala, Punjab from 28.02.2024 to 05.03.2024. This was necessitated based on the request of the State Association in order to give more time to them to prepare for the championships so that the selection and other processes are completed with due attention and care. The request for rescheduling was accepted by the Adhoc Committee in order to ensure that all the promising players and future medal prospects get the opportunity to participate in the championship event. It is estimated that around 1200 to 1400 athletes from 18 to 20 states are going to participate in the said championships at the NSNIS, Patiala," the Ad-hoc Committee stated in a press release.
It further added that 732 wrestlers will take part in the competition including star grapplers like Vinesh Phogat, Ansu Malik, Sunil Kumar, Sagar Jaglan and others.
"The 2023 Senior Free Style, Greco Roman Style and Women Wrestling National Championship, organised by the Adhoc Committee for Wrestling Federation of India at Jaipur under the ages of RSPB was a great success. It was conducted with extreme professionalism by duly observing all the sports ethics, wherein all the lodging and boarding arrangements were meticulously planned for such a big sports congregation. A total of 732 wrestlers, including all the top wrestlers of the country like Vinesh Phogat, Ansu Malik, Sunil Kumar, Sagar Jaglan, Sarita Mor, Kuldeep Malik, Gyanender, Nitesh Vishvajeet, Vikas, Ashu, Rohit Dhaiya, Naveen, Ankush, Mansi, Sonali, Ritika, Anju, Nisha, Akash Dhaiya, Praveen, Naveen, Yash, Sujeet, Akash, Vicky, Anirudh, and many more participated in the championship. The arrangements were appreciated by all the participants," it added.
India's wrestling has seen a major shift since the conclusion of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections. After Singh's victory in the WFI elections, emotional Sakshi Malik broke down as she left the venue announcing her retirement from wrestling while addressing a press conference in the national capital.
Later, Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia and World Championship medalist Vinesh Phogat also returned their government honours.
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