India’s below-par Asian showing to be reviewed
The Asian Wrestling Championships that concluded here on Sunday provided some high points for the hosts but it still suggested that India’s Olympic hopefuls aren’t exactly on the right track.
Till date four top wrestlers— Ravi Dahiya (57kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg) and Deepak Punia (86kg) have sealed berths for the Olympics in men’s freestyle. Vinesh Phogat (53kg) is the lone women’s freestyle wrestler to have qualified for the Tokyo Games starting on July 24. The four achieved qualification at the September World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
Barring Dahiya, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) isn’t satisfied with the progress of the other three as the Olympics is just five months away. Its observations are based on the overall performances in the New Delhi competition. “Our top wrestlers (Olympic hopefuls) should have dominated the continental competition. But the way they exhibited their skills, it gives an impression a lot more has to be done if we are to aim for podium finish in Tokyo,” Vinod Tomar, WFI assistant secretary, said.
REVIEW MEETING
The national squad might have won five gold including one in Greco-Roman, India’s best showing since the 2010 continental competition, but a review meeting on the not-so-encouraging performances of wrestlers with medal potential at the Olympics is expected to take place in the first week of March.
WFI has pinned medal hopes in men’s 57kg, 65kg, and 86kg while women’s 53kg is also regarded as capable of a podium finish in Tokyo.
One key point in next month’s review meeting would be Bajrang repeatedly losing to a Japanese opponent. At the Asian Championships, the 2019 world championships bronze medallist lost 2-10 to Japan’s Takuto Otoguro in the final. The 21 year-old Otoguro will be a strong Olympic medal contender on home turf.
“Bajrang’s coach (Georgia’s) Shako Bentinidis has to give details of the future programme. More importantly, he has to tell us how he plans to solve the Japanese
puzzle,” Tomar said.
To keep track of Bajrang’s progress, WFI had got Shako under its contract last October, while Russian expert Murad Gaidorav was appointed to oversee the training of Dahiya and Deepak Punia. Bentinidis has been Bajrang’s coach for the last two-and-half years, but leg defence has continued to be the weak link of the Indian. Bentinidis, however, said there has been a gradual improvement. “Olympics are still five months away... we can do better,” he said after Bajrang’s final loss to Otoguro in the Asian meet.
WFI is also not happy with the progress made by Phogat. “We were hopeful of a good display but she settled for bronze in the Asian Championships, which is a worrying factor,” Tomar said.
After her bronze medal win, Phogat said she was making efforts to translate her training drills into competition moves since moving up to 53kg from 48kg, the weight category in which she competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where her medal hopes were dashed due to injury on the mat. “It’s taking time to be successful in the new group, but I’m working hard,” she said.
Vinesh, who has worked with a personal coach in Hungary’s Woller Akos since February 2019, has submitted her training plans to WFI. It says she would be training in Norway for 15 days in March and then compete in select European competitions. “She has taken a break for a week and will then start her training cycle in preparation for Olympics,” Tomar said.
ASIAN QUALIFIER
The WFI was not happy with performance in the women’s 62kg and 76kg, and will hold trials in Lucknow on Wednesday to select wrestlers in the divisions for the March 27-29 Asian Olympic Qualifier in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik is in the reckoning for a spot in 62kg. The 27-year-old won silver in 65kg, a non-Olympic category, in the Asian meet. Among her rivals will be twice world cadet champion Sonam Malik. In the last trials, teenager Sonam beat Sakshi to earn the spot in 62kg for the Asian championships, but didn’t impress. Pooja Dhanda, the 2018 world bronze medallist, and Sarita Mor are also in the 62kg group.
To prepare for the Asian Olympic qualifiers, the men’s team will go to Russia on a 15-day exposure tour, while the women’s squad will train in Ukraine. The venue for Greco-Roman is Baku, Azerbaijan.