Wrestling
Asian Wrestling Qualifiers: Indian Team, Preview, Live Streaming, When and Where to Watch
The Asian Wrestling Qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics will kick off at Almaty, Kazakhstan from tomorrow.
Anshu Malik would try to make it to Tokyo Olympics at Asian Wrestling Qualifiers (Source:Olympic Channel)
The Asian Wrestling Qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics will kick off at Almaty, Kazakhstan from tomorrow. While four Indian wrestlers – Bajrang Punia (FS 65kg), Ravi Kumar Dahiya (FS 57kg), Deepak Punia (FS 86kg) and Vinesh Phogat (Women's 53kg) have already qualified for the Olympics, the Asian Wrestling Qualifiers would act as the penultimate event for rest of the grapplers from the country.
India has sent a strong 14 member squad to Almaty for the qualifiers. The Indian challenge would be led by Sandeep Singh Mann in the men's section, while the hopes would be pinned on Anshu Malik and Sonam Malik in the women's section to come up with the goods.
What is India's Team for the Asian Wrestling Qualifiers?
Men's Freestyle
Sandeep Singh Mann (74kg), Satyawart Kadian (97kg), Sumit Malik (125kg)
Greco-Roman
Gyanender (60kg), Ashu (67kg), Gurpreet Singh (77kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Ravi (97kg), Naveen (130kg)
Women's Freestyle
Seema Bisla (50kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Sonam Malik (62kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg), Pooja Sihag (76kg)
What to expect?
Men's Freestyle
Sandeep Singh Mann in the 74kg would be the one to watch out for in men's freestyle. He had displayed some top-notch skills during the national trials as he left the likes of Narsingh Yadav behind to qualify for the Olympic qualifiers. The 21-year-old National Champion would surely be India's best bet to earn an Olympic slot from the Asian qualifiers.
Greco-Roman
Indian charge in the Greco-Roman category would be led by Gurpreet Singh (77kg) and Sunil Kumar (87kg). Both of them were in some good form during last year, with Singh becoming the first Indian Greco-Roman grappler to win an Asian title in 27 years and Kumar clinching the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series in Rome.
Women's Freestyle
The Indian hopes in the women's section would be pinned on 18-year-old Sonam Malik who had qualified for the Asian qualifiers defeating the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games bronze medallist, Sakshi Malik.
The 19-year-old silver medallist from the Individual Wrestling World Cup in Belgrade, Anshu Malik, too, will start as a favourite in her 57kg weight division.
When to watch?
Friday, April 9
Qualification rounds (GR – 60, 67, 77, 87, 97, 130kg) - 10:30 AM IST - 12:30 PM IST
Semi-finals (GR – 60, 67, 77, 87, 97, 130kg) - 12:30 PM IST - 1:30 PM IST
Repechages (GR – 60, 67, 77, 87, 97, 130kg) - 1:30 PM IST - 2:00 PM IST
Finals (GR – 60, 67, 77, 87, 97, 130kg) - 5:30 PM IST - 8:30 PM IST
Saturday, April 10
Qualification rounds (WW – 50, 53, 57, 62, 68, 76kg) - 10:30 AM IST - 12:30 AM IST
Semi-finals (WW – 50, 53, 57, 62, 68, 76kg) - 12:30 PM IST - 1:30 PM IST
Repechages (WW – 50, 53, 57, 62, 68, 76kg) - 1:30 PM IST - 2:00 PM IST
Finals (WW – 50, 53, 57, 62, 68, 76kg) - 5:30 PM IST - 8:30 PM IST
Sunday, April 11
Qualification rounds (FS - 57, 65, 74, 86, 97, 125kg) - 10:00 AM IST - 12:30 AM IST
Semi-finals (FS - 57, 65, 74, 86, 97, 125kg) - 12:30 PM IST - 1:30 PM IST
Repechages (FS - 57, 65, 74, 86, 97, 125kg) - 1:30 PM IST - 2:00 PM IST
Finals (FS - 57, 65, 74, 86, 97, 125kg) - 5:30 PM IST - 8:30 PM IST
LIVE Streaming/Where to watch?
With no telecast on any television channels in India, you can catch all the action from Almaty at wrestlingtv.in
