The WFI ad-hoc panel handed Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia and World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat direct entries into the Asian Games. The IOA ad-hoc panel said in a circular that it has already selected wrestlers in men’s freestyle 65kg and women’s 53kg but trials will be held in all six weight categories in each of the three styles. The WFI took the decision without the consent of the national chief coaches.
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The Indian Olympic Association’s ad-hoc committee took the decision just four days before the trials to select the wrestling squad for the Asian Games. The competition will start on September 23 in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Ashok Garg confirmed to PTI that the two wrestlers have been free from the trials.
The greco-roman and women’s freestyle trials will be on July 22, while the men’s freestyle trials will be on July 23 at IG Stadium in New Delhi. Bajrang is currently training in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan. He was one of the six protesting wrestlers at Jantar Mantar demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan.
Vinesh the 53kg wrestler, who won the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games gold medal is training in Budapest, Hungary. The move to exempt Bajrang and Vinesh, however, has not gone down well with fellow competitors, who have threatened to move court.
