The Wrestling Federation of India has announced that there would be no trials to pick wrestlers for the Paris Olympics trials, as those who have earned an Olympic quota will compete in the multi-sport mega event. The board made the decision after five wrestlers wrote to them, urging that the trials not be held because it would interfere with their preparations for the Paris Olympics. However, the decision dashed the expectations of wrestlers such as Ravi Dahiya, who did not receive an Olympic quota. Dahiya is back from a knee injury after losing to Aman in the selection trials for the two Olympic qualification competitions in Paris.
Six Indian wrestlers will now compete at the Paris Olympics. Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Antim Panghal (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg), and Reetika Hooda (76kg) will compete in the women’s category, while Aman Sehrawat (57kg) will be the lone male wrestler in the fray from India.
Vinesh Phogat defeated Republic of Korea’s Miran Cheon, an Asian Championships bronze medalist, 10-0 in the women’s 50kg division at the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers due to technical superiority. During the same tournament, Anshu Malik won the women’s 57kg quota as well. The 22-year-old Anshu defeated Kalmira Bilimbek Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan 12-1 in the quarterfinals before outclassing Uzbekistan’s Laylokhon Sobirova 11-0 in the semis to claim her quota.
Reetika Hooda, the U23 world champion, defeated South Korea’s Eunju Hwang, Mongolia’s Davaanasan Enkh Amar, and the People’s Republic of China’s Juan Wang to advance to the semi-finals of the women’s 76kg in the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers. She later defeated Hui Tsz Chang of Chinese Taipei 7-0 in the quota bout, securing another ticket for India in the Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, Nisha Dahiya won the Paris 2024 quota in the women’s freestyle 68kg division in the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in Istanbul. Another promising Indian women’s wrestler, Antim Panghal, earned an Olympic quota for India in the women’s 53kg category by winning bronze at the World Championships last year.
Aman Sehrawat, the only male wrestler on the list, won the quota in the men’s 57kg freestyle category at the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in Istanbul, Turkey. Sehrawat, a U23 world champion, defeated Chongsong Han of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 12-2 in the semi-finals for India’s sixth wrestling slot at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
