Rome Ranking Wrestling Series - Indian Team, Preview, Live Streaming, When & Where to watch

In the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics 2021, top Indian wrestlers will be taking part in the International Ranking Series Tournament, Matteo Pellicone, in Rome, between March 4 to March 7 in Ostia.

It will serve as a preparatory tournament for the Olympics and hence the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) kept a 30-member contingent for the series.

India's best bet at the tournament will be Bajrang Punia in the 65-kg freestyle category. Punia, the World Championships silver medallist who already won a berth for Tokyo announced that he will be taking a break from social media till the Olympics. Punia, who is ranked no. 2 in the world will aim for a good show in the ranking series, which can propel him to be the no. 1 in the world. This will be Punia's first international outing since the Asian Championship last year where he had to be satisfied with a silver medal.

After making a comeback to international wrestling following a four-year doping suspension, Narsingh Yadav would be eager to silence his critics. In the World Cup in December, Yadav did not have a good outing, losing in the qualification round. But the former Commonwealth Games gold medalist will look to put that behind and set the records straight with a good performance in Rome.

Another freestyle wrestler to watch at the tournament will be Narsingh Yadav in 74-kg category. Narsingh has come back after his four-year doping suspension and would be raring to prove his mettle once again. He would try to put behind his World Cup disappointment from December last year and would mark a fresh start.

Among the women's wrestler, all eyes would be on Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. Vinesh returned to the wrestling mat last week and struck a gold medal in her very first tournament in Kyiv, returning after one year. The world no. 3 wrestler will once again be fighting for her ranking that might give her an edge in the draw for the Olympics.

Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik did not have an expectedly good run in the last couple of years and has not been able to seek qualification for the Olympics. The Asian Championship silver medallist will aim to gain back her form and secure a place in the Olympics now.

In the meanwhile, The New Indian Express reported that four wrestlers named in the Indian squad for the Rome Ranking Series have pulled out of the event due to various reasons. While Ravi Dahiya (61 kg) has withdrawn for his knee injury sustained in the national camp, Deepak Punia (86kg) has withdrawn citing illness. Both the wrestlers had booked an Olympic quota by winning a medal each in the 2019 World Championships. Sonam Malik (62kg) and Jitender Kinha (74kg) will also miss the series due to injuries.

Teams

Men:

Free Style: Pankaj (57 Kg), Bajrang (65 Kg), Rohit (65 Kg), Vishal Kaliraman (70 Kg), Sandeep Singh Mann (74 Kg), Narsingh Yadav (74 Kg), Rahul Rathi (79 Kg), (Parveen Chahar) 86 Kg, Praveen (92 Kg), Satyawart Kadian (97 Kg), Sumit (125 Kg)

Greco Roman: Arjun Halakurki (55 Kg), Manish 60 (Kg), Neeraj (63 Kg), Gaurav Duhoon (67 Kg), Kuldeep Malik (72 Kg) , Gurpreet Singh (77 Kg), Harpreet Singh (82 Kg), Sunil Kumar (87 Kg), Deepanshu (97 Kg), Naveen (130 Kg)

Women:

Meenakshi (50 Kg), Vinesh (53 Kg), Nandini Bajirao Salokhe (53 Kg), Anshu (57 Kg), Sarita (59 Kg), Sakshi Malik (62 Kg), Nisha (65 Kg), Anita (68 Kg), Kiran (76 Kg).

India's schedule

March 4

Greco Roman qualification rounds and repechage: 55-60-63-67-87-97-130kg - 3:00 PM IST

Greco Roman finals: 55-60-63-67-87-97-130kg - 10:30 PM IST

March 5

Greco Roman qualification and repechage: 72-77-82kg - 3:00 PM IST

Women's freestyle qualification and repechage: 57-62-68-76kg - 3:00 PM IST

Greco Roman finals: 72-77-82kg - 10:30 PM IST

Women's freestyle finals: 57-62-68-76kg - 10:30 PM IST

March 6

Men's freestyle qualification and repechage: 97-125kg - 3:00 PM IST

Women's freestyle qualification and repechage: 50-53-55-59-65-72kg - 3:00 PM IST

Men's freestyle finals: 97-125kg - 10:30 PM IST

Women's freestyle finals: 50-53-55-59-65-72kg - 10:30 PM IST

March 7

Men's freestyle qualification and repechage: 57-61-65-70-74-79-86-92kg - 3:00 PM IST

Men's freestyle finals: 57-61-65-70-74-79-86-92kg - 10:30 PM IST

Where to watch

The matches will be shown live on WrestlingTV.in