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Tag: Indian wrestling

Sports

Wrestling: After petition by Bajrang and Sakshi, WFI tells Delhi HC it will not hold selection trials

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) told the Delhi High Court on Thursday that it will withdraw its February 26 circular about the selection trials for the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships 2024 and Asian Olympic Games Qualifier, paving the way for the Indian Olympic Association-appointed ad-hoc committee to conduct the trials. The High Court order states that consequently, “there shall be no parallel selection trials” as apprehended in the plea moved by the petitioner wrestlers. The court thereafter said, “Needless to say, the ad-hoc committee shall ensure that all athletes, which are found eligible, are permitted to participate in the trial.” The matter is next listed for April 26. The High Court was hearing a plea moved by Olympic medallist wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi M...
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HC wants Centre, WFI to respond to protesting wrestlers’ plea against federation election

The Delhi High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre on a plea by grapplers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Satyawart Kadian to set aside the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections held in December 2023. A single-judge bench of Justice Sachin Datta issued the notice to the government through the sports ministry, WFI and the ad-hoc committee appointed to run the federation. The court granted time to the Centre’s counsel to seek instructions in the matter and listed the matter for hearing on March 7. Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the petitioner wrestlers, argued that they have sought directions against the “illegal action” of the “suspended” WFI to conduct selection trials for the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships 2024 and Asian Olympic Games ...
Sports

WFI President Sanjay Singh Assures Wrestlers’ Inclusion in Olympic Qualifiers Trials | More sports News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh has extended reassurances to the protesting wrestlers, asserting their inclusion in the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers trials to be held in Maharashtra. The commitment from Singh arrives following the lifting of the provisional suspension on WFI by the World governing body UWW, with a stipulation against any form of discrimination."The state has good infrastructure. I will ask Bajrang, Vinesh, and Sakshi to forget everything and start preparing for trials and win medals for the country," Singh assured, highlighting the importance of their participation in the trials.The trio, prominent figures in Indian wrestling, led a demonstration against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, alleging misconduct. Concern...
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‘Too many risks’: Women wrestlers encouraged to wean away from last-day fast weight loss

At any wrestling championships, the common sight is of athletes in raincoats running rounds of indoor mats on eve of competition. Most of them are also fasting. Wrestlers cramming last-minute sweating, dehydrating and starving to force-fit into their weight categories isn’t something new. But is it healthy? Dr Samuel Pullinger, head of Sports Science at JSW’s Inspire Institute of Sport training centre at Vijayanagar in Karnataka, is trying to wean away the centre’s women wrestlers from this punishing pre weigh-in regime. Often considered a heroic struggle which it is and fairly global, the basis of the practice however is unhealthy. Having noticed a constant stream of Anterior Cruciate Ligament knee injuries and rash of ligament tears, he has now insisted there would be no more sauna an...
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Why wrestling lightweight Puducherry finished third at Nationals and Sikkim, Andaman fielded ‘strong’ teams

Weigh-ins and verification of men’s freestyle wrestlers completed closer to midnight, finalisation of jumbo draws that resulted in a delayed start on Monday and a mega entry list of 325 wrestlers across weight classes, with certain categories comprising 34 wrestlers and 16 first-round bouts. States like Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar, not known for wrestling prowess, fielded wrestlers named Rahul Rathi, Parvinder, Vinay Dahiya and Hritik Yadav. Mizoram, Meghalaya and Lakshadweep also had stronger-than-usual teams comprising a few wrestlers from powerhouse states. The entry list read pretty similar in women’s freestyle, too, a day earlier. Puducherry, a lightweight in wrestling, finished third in the team championship. Thirty-four teams, including institutional units Railways and Service...
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After helping improve facilities for wrestlers and regaining her uncurbed enthusiasm, unstoppable Vinesh Phogat wins Nationals crown

It was a near-perfect return to competition for Vinesh Phogat after being away from wrestling for a year-and-a-half because of being involved in protests and a knee injury. The 29-year-old making a comeback after a knee surgery in August didn’t concede a single point in the 55kg rounds, displayed strong defense against Haryana’s Tamanna in the quarterfinal and won by fall against Madhya Pradesh’s Jyoti in the final in just two minutes. This might be a non-Olympic category, and she will have to face tougher opponents if she eventually qualifies for the Olympics in the 53kg category, but Sunday was about spending time on the mat and going through rounds of a competition. Vinesh, competing for RSPB, said she put in 50 percent effort because she was being cautious. “I am returning after...
Sports

Factionalism in states, two nationals leave wrestlers in a tizzy

Factionalism in state units of wrestling has made life difficult for wrestlers. Take the case of Rajasthan. One trial was held in Bharatpur for the suspended WFI’s Pune Nationals held earlier this week, while a second trial at Kota was conducted by another faction for the nationals conducted by the ad-hoc committee in Jaipur. Both the trials were held on the same day. Wrestlers selected from the Bharatpur trials participated and won medals in Pune only to later realise that the sports ministry does not recognise the nationals conducted by the suspended WFI. At least three medals winners from the Pune Nationals have made a last minute dash to Jaipur hoping to get their names on the start list. “When we participated in the WFI nationals at Pune we had no idea it would not be recognised. ...
Sports

Wrestling Nationals: ‘If WFI strengthens akhada system, then India can produce more world-class wrestlers’

Prem Chand Lochab, the secretary of the Railway Sports Promotion Board is also the Secretary General of the suspended Wrestling Federation of India. Lochab had the support of wrestlers when he threw his hat in the ring for the WFI polls. In Jaipur, Lochab spoke to The Indian Express on two nationals being held back-to-back, the changes needed in the WFI, and how the country can continue to produce world-class wrestlers. Excerpts from the interview: The Railway Sports Promotion Board is hosting the senior nationals two days after the WFI’s. Where does this leave wrestlers? At these nationals, wrestlers will get medals and certificates that are valid, and then job opportunities open up for them too. The Olympics are around the corner and wrestlers were waiting for these nationals. We didn...
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Wrestling: At the ‘official’ Nationals in Jaipur, a wedding-like lunch spread, hotels for grapplers and hope for a clearer future

Not far from the competition venue of the Senior National Wrestling Championships here, under a large shamiana, is a lavish buffet spread at lunchtime. There is a well-stocked non-veg counter and also a salad station. Earlier the participants were escorted to the hotel by officials who were there to receive them at the airport or railway station. Few days back another wrestling ‘Nationals’ was held at Pune, it was organised by the president of the suspended WFI Sanjay Singh, a loyalist of the erstwhile president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who faces sexual harassment charges against him. The Sports Ministry had called it illegal. At Pune wrestlers had to go hungry as there were no eating options at the venue and among the ‘reception party’ at the venue were an army of mosquitoes. The Jaip...
Sports

Forest dweller hits wrestling mats: remarkable tale of Leena Siddi, African descendant Indian

Before she joined a sports hostel for wrestling, Leena Antho Siddi, one amongst 11 children but her father’s favourite, would be thrilled when she heard someone in the neighbourhood or extended family was getting married. She loved wedding invites because it was a legitimate reason to leave their dwelling in the forests of Haliyal taluk of Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, and eat to their heart’s content at the feasts.“My father would take us along so we could have a proper meal, after days. His struggle in my regard ended when I joined a sports hostel where I was fed well. When he watched Sushil Kumar win the Beijing Olympics bronze, he had decided that his next-born would join wrestling, compete at the Olympics, and never go hungry. Now I win village dangals and earn enough to fee...
Sports

Efforts on, we will return to power in 10 days: Wrestling Federation of India president Sanjay Singh on government suspension

Sanjay Singh leads the suspended Wrestling Federation of India and is viewed as a front for Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexual harassment by leading female wrestlers. The Varanasi loyalist has gone ahead to conduct a Senior Nationals at Pune by gathering lesser-known wrestlers from 24 state units, defying the Sports Ministry orders and calling the ad hoc committee’s Jaipur Nationals a mistake.He is confident he will convince the government to revoke their suspension and will be back calling the shots in “10 days.” The WFI though was chastised enough to set up a sexual harassment committee, and Singh says he will engage with wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Mallik while maintaining that they will find redressal to their complaints only in courts. He insists Brij Bhushan Sing...
Sports

At suspended WFI nationals; wrestlers in fix, venue infested by mosquitoes

Players forced to pick a side or risk their health straddling back-to-back events. A defiant federation’s loyalists frothing in rage at being restrained by the Sports Ministry. And a competition venue infested with mosquitoes. Indian wrestling continues to remain chaotic as a hurriedly held Senior Nationals at Pune by the suspended Wrestling Federation of India that has the erstwhile wrestling chief Brij Bhushan Singh’s loyalist Sanjay Singh at helm, is flying in the face of the government-mandated one at Jaipur three days later.The January 29-31 meet being conducted at Pune has failed to attract the top names of the country in any weight category, the ace wrestlers showing a preference for the February 2-5 Nationals of the government-appointed ad-hoc committee later. Maharashtra’s Atis...
Sports

Two of the big questions for 2024: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for T20 World Cup? PR Sreejesh or Krishan Pathak for Paris?

It’s not about sentiments, to give Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli potentially one last shot at winning the T20 World Cup. But there is no reason to look beyond them. Kohli was the tournament’s highest run-getter and played one of the all-time great T20 knocks by an Indian batsman. He hasn’t played another T20I since India’s semifinal exit in the 2022 World Cup, but enjoyed a prosperous IPL. The tally of 639 runs is his second-best run-haul ever, so is the strike rate that is a nudge below 140. If any, he has only reinvigorated his T20 game and looks in no mood to slow down.Rohit’s recent T20I outings have not been quite eye-catching. but the freedom he displayed in the ODI World Cup is a reliable indicator of his mindset and method. A cricketer like him should not be valued merely through...
Sports

Wrestling Federation election: ‘Brij Bhushan like an elder brother to me,’ says new president Sanjay Singh

For Sanjay Kumar Singh, a member of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for the past 12 years and a friend of Bhartiya Janata Party MP from Kaiserganj Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan for the past 30 years, there’s a seemingly endless succession of calls offering congratulations. Sitting in the lobby of a hotel late into the evening, the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association vice-president is surrounded by a slew of supporters as his 40-7 victory in the WFI election over Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anita Sheoran sinks in. Insiders and supporters through the day have muttered about how the result was a forgone conclusion. It is a sentiment echoed by the new president as well who says that the victory of his panel was guaranteed. “The election was in our hands from the first day itself. ...
Sports

Antim goes for the jugular on the counter

In the semi-finals of her first international senior event, Antim Panghal faced off against Aktenge Keunimjaeva at the Asian Championships. In the match, there was a point in the first round where Keunimjaeva has a hold on Antim’s neck and her arm and it seems like the Uzbekistan wrestler is in control of the situation. Suddenly both their profiles rise and Antim’s eyes lock onto Keunimjaeva’s leg and she lunges for it. Keunimjaeva goes from a position of strength to suddenly finding the two-time U20 World Champion gaining control of her back for a takedown. While Bajrang Punia might be famed for his legendary endurance and those late bursts of points, Antim Panghal, in her first senior World Championships appearance, wants to show what she showed in that match against Keunimjaeva – tha...
Sports

Antim steps into Vinesh-sized boots for the Asiad

Every time Krishna Kumari has entered her sparse kitchen in Gangwa, she’s met with one request from her youngest daughter Antim – dahi mixed with red chilli powder and fried onions, namkeen rice and kadhi. This isn’t a request that’s out of place for Kumari since every time Panghal returns from a wrestling tournament in a faraway foreign land, her immediate solace is to bury herself in the comforts that only home can provide.Even in the midst of this wrestling induced madness, Antim’s near and dear manage to provide her with the calm that comes before her storms. The family lives on the outskirts of Hisar. They moved there from their village of Bhagana because she needed to be near the Baba Lal Das Kushti akhada – where she is currently training. Her father Ram Niwas Panghal had to sell...
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Antim leads charge as Indian women win team title at U-20 Wrestling Worlds

As far as performances go, they were as contrasting as they come: one, a defensive master class combined with incredible agility and tactical awareness; the other, an ultra-attacking show that was wrapped up within four minutes. Both, though, yielded similar results: a gold medal for Antim Panghal and Savita Dalal. Amidst endless gloom, a non-existent federation and sexual harassment allegations against its former head that pushed the sport into a crisis, the women wrestlers conjured India’s best-ever performance at the Junior World Championships in Amman. Shorn of practice, camps and competition, the under-20 wrestlers won medals in seven out of 10 weight classes, including three gold, one silver and three bronze, to finish ahead of women’s wrestling powerhouse Japan and the USA in the...
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Women wrestlers won’t feel safe if Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s people win WFI polls: Bajrang Punia

New Delhi: The government must keep its word on ensuring a shift of power in the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) with no close associate of president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh contesting in the election else there will be no clean-up and women wrestlers won’t feel safe, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia said on Wednesday. Singh, the BJP MP from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh, has been found liable for prosecution for sexual harassment, molestation and stalking of women wrestlers in the Delhi Police chargesheet. Bajrang and some of the country’s other top wrestlers had suspended their protest against Singh after a meeting with sports minister Anurag Thakur in June. One of the conditions agreed upon, according to Bajrang, was that ‘no family member’ or ‘supporter’ of Singh wo...
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Covid, murder, protests: As Indian wrestling endures setbacks, a Delhi akhara keeps churning out champions

It’s nine in the morning at Delhi’s famed Chhatrasal akhara and trainees are lined up in the kitchen, armed with their casseroles and bowls after morning practice.On a large, wood-fuelled oven, stacks of rotis are being prepared, which disappear in no time. “It’s our lunchtime now and there’s no restriction on servings,” says a young pehalwan as he fills up a large bowl with raita, which, he says, will be his snack before the evening practice session. What might be an unusual lunch time for most is routine for these young men.For these 200 or so trainees, each day looks the same: wake up at 4.30am, warm-up, and spend nearly seven or eight hours training, taking breaks only to have meals. Same routine, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Barely 5km from Delhi University’s North Campus, ...
Sports

Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia say in Facebook live that they didn’t ‘run away from trials’

Facing the wrestling fraternity’s wrath for accepting exemption from the Asian Games trials, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia on Monday said they are hurt that young wresters dragged them to the court but are at the same time delighted to see the junior grapplers starting to fight for their rights. The IOA ad-hoc panel conducted trials in all 18 categories for the Hangzhou Games but decided to give direct entries to Bajrang (65kg) and Vinesh (53kg), triggering angry reactions from many in the wrestling fraternity. Junior wresters Antim Panghal and Sujeet Kalkal approached the Delhi High Court, appealing that the exemption be set aside but their petition was dismissed. Both Bajrang and Vinesh, who are abroad at different locations for training, came live on social media to respond to the ...