New Delhi: Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has got the sports ministry’s go-ahead to send the team for the Asian Championships to be held in Amman, Jordan from March 25-30, WFI president Sanjay Singh said on Wednesday.
The continental championships will be the first major international competition for Indian wrestlers since the Paris Olympics last August. India though fielded a team at the World Championships for non-Olympic weight categories held in Tirana, Albania last October.
WFI remains suspended by the sports ministry since December 2023 despite being recognised by United World Wrestling (UWW), the sport’s global governing body. The current impasse has hit the wrestlers with many, including Paris Games bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat, being out of competition for months.
Last month, WFI could not send teams to the twin ranking series in Zagreb and Tirana after the ministry did not clear its proposal. The situation reportedly changed after Singh’s meeting with sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya on February 23. HT has learned that the federation and ministry have been in regular touch since then to resolve the situation.
“We are clear that the athletes’ interests will not be harmed. India will certainly compete at the Asian Championships,” a sports ministry official said.
The deadline to send entries for the competition was March 5, but teams can make changes to the squads by March 18, a week before the competition, a senior wrestling official said. It is learned that WFI had sent the same team to the ministry for approval that it had picked for last month’s Tirana Ranking Series. The ministry had then directed WFI to “select the team by following proper procedures”.
WFI will conduct the Federation Cup on March 8 and 9 in Jalandhar. It is likely to see participation from top wrestlers such as Antim Panghal, Udit and Sujeet Kalkal. Aman and Tokyo Olympian Deepak Punia are likely to skip it.
The top three finishers in each weight division from the Federation Cup and medallists from the national championships held last December will then compete in the talent hunt from which the team for the Asian Championships will be chosen.
“The talent hunt will be held on March 11 and 12 at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium. There will be 4-6 wrestlers in each weight class across freestyle, Greco-Roman and women categories,” Singh said.
Having missed two ranking series, the Asian Championships assumes great importance for Indian wrestlers as it is a mandatory event to qualify for the World Championships. The cash-strapped WFI has also been hit by a ₹44 lakh invoice from the organisers of two ranking series India missed.
