New Delhi [India], July 22 : The Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestlers were shortlisted through selection trials held at the Kedar Jadhav Hall in New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium on Saturday.
Bajrang Punia (men’s 65kg) and Vinesh Phogat (women’s 53kg) were exempted from the trials by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) ad-hoc committee, which is in charge of conducting the day-to-day affairs of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The duo got direct entries to the Hangzhou Games.
However, trials in their respective categories were still conducted and the winners will be standbys. The Indian wrestling team for the Asian Games 2023 will be confirmed this weekend as the men’s freestyle trials are scheduled for Sunday at the same venue.
According to Olympics.com, a total of 11 wrestlers, six in Greco-Roman categories and five women’s categories, were selected for the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023 on Saturday.
The women’s section saw some big surprises with world championships medallists Sarita Mor and Anshu Malik failed to make the cut for the Asian Games.
Sarita Mor beat Anshu Malik 6-4 in the first round of the women’s 57kg category but lost in the semi-finals to junior world championships bronze medallist Mansi Ahlawat, who went on to win the division.
Meanwhile, Antim Panghal, the 2022 U-20 world champion, dominated the 53kg division before pinning Manju in the final. However, the 19-year-old will have to be a standby for Vinesh Phogat.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Pooja Gehlot, meanwhile, sealed the 50kg slot by pinning Nirmala Devi in the final. Sonam Malik also won the 62kg trials by defeating Manisha.
The women’s 68kg, meanwhile, saw another big upset as Radhika emerged as the surprising winner. She knocked out favourite Nisha Dahiya and went on to win the final by defeating Priyanka. Kiran won the 76kg, by getting better of Divya Kakran in the deciding bout.
Former Asian championships bronze medal winner Gyanender was the top wrestler in the 60kg Greco-Roman division while usual suspects Neeraj, Naveen and Narinder Cheema also made the cut.
However, Sajan Bhanwal, who became the first-ever Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to win a medal at the U-23 world championships last year, failed to make the cut in the 77kg.
Greco-Roman: Gyanender - 60kg, Neeraj - 67kg, Vikash - 77kg, Sunil Kumar - 87kg, Narinder Cheema - 97kg, Naveen - 130kg
Women’s freestyle: Pooja Gehlot - 50kg, Vinesh Phogat - 53kg (Antim Panghal as standby), Mansi Ahlawat - 57kg, Sonam Malik - 62kg, Radhika - 68kg, Kiran - 76kg.
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