Wrestling
Indian wrestlers likely to miss Asian Championship
With just few days left before the entry deadline closes, it is a race against time for the wrestlers.
The problem stems from the fact that the sports ministry had suspended the WFI in December 2023. (Representative Photo)
New Delhi: The Indian wrestlers are likely to miss a chance to compete at the next month’s Asian Championship and subsequently the World Championship in September.
The suspended Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) only has few days to meet the entry deadline.
'A loss for players'
Reacting to India’s no-show at important continental championships, a WFI official told The Bridge, “It’s a sheer loss of our players. If the wrestlers don’t participate in the ranking tournaments it will affect their seeding in big tournaments. The last date to send entries for the Asian Championship is February 25 and if we fail, the deadline we will not be allowed to field our wrestlers in the World Championship too.”
Indian wrestlers have already missed the Zagreb Open and Muhamet Malo last month due to delays in clearance from the Sports Ministry.
The Asian Championship is scheduled to be held in Amman, Jordan from March 25-30. The grapplers had grabbed 9 medals including 4 silver in the last edition of the championship held in Kyrgyzstan.
According to the United World Wrestling (UWW), the international governing body, it is mandatory for participating nations to field players in continental championships to qualify for the World Championship. The World Championship is scheduled for September in Zagreb, Serbia.
The bottleneck
Last year, India fielded one less women wrestler in the World Wrestling Cadet Championships since Reetika Hooda, India’s entry in the Asian cadet, did not participate in the continental championship.
“Reetika did not participate in the women’s 49kg category at the Asian cadet as she got injured a day before the team’s departure. There was no time to arrange a visa for another wrestler. So, our 49kg category went empty at the World cadet,” WFI official reiterated.
The problem stems from the fact that the sports ministry had suspended the WFI in December 2023 as it felt the new body did not comply with the National Sports Code and was working under the influence of former office-bearers.
Also, WFI's suspension makes it hard for the entity to mobilize resources to fund the wresters' trips.
“There are a lot of federations that are not affiliated with the sports ministry and still manage to generate funds. When WFI approaches sponsors for funds, they tell us you are under suspension. We don’t want funding from the sports ministry. We can manage the expenses. We just want to be able to function properly,” he stated.
The sports ministry could not be reached for a comment.
Wrestling, one of oldest sport in the country, is one of the biggest contributor in India's growing medals tally. The wrestlers have won seven medals - 2 silver and 5 bronze - from five Olympic Games and 19 World Championship medals in recent times.
