WFI names unchanged squad for final Olympics qualifiers

New Delhi, April 29

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has named almost the same squad that competed in the Asian qualifiers in Bishkek for the final Olympics qualifying tournament (May 9-13) in Istanbul due to paucity of time to conduct fresh trials.

The WFI has only left out the three wrestlers — Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Anshu Malik (57kg) and Reetika (76kg) — who had sealed quota places in Bishkek.

It is learnt that the WFI was unhappy with the poor show by the Indian men’s team in Bishkek and was planning to conduct fresh trials. But a WFI source said due to “very limited time” between the Asian qualifiers and the Istanbul event, it was forced to shelve the idea.

“There was hardly any time to hold fresh trials. It would have been very difficult for wrestlers to lose weight twice within a short span of time. First they had to lose weight for the trials and then again for the competition,” the source said.

Indian grapplers stand a good chance of clinching a few more Paris Games berths in Istanbul as 54 Olympics quota places are up for grabs.

“Every category offers three Paris Olympics spots — one each to the two finalists and one to the winner of the playoff between the two bronze medallists,” the United World Wrestling stated. — PTI

Three junior pugilists confirm medals

Astana: Indian pugilists Brijesh Tamta, Sagar Jakhar and Sumit registered victories to enter the semifinals and assure themselves of medals in the youth category of the Asian U22 & Youth Boxing Championships here today. Brijesh (48kg) registered a hard-fought win against Uzbekistan’s Sabirov Sayfiddin. After both boxers won a round each, it all came down to the third round which the youngster from India won 4-3 after the bout was reviewed. Sagar (60kg) and Sumit (67kg) clinched identical 5-0 victories against Thailand’s Kalaseeram Thanaphansakon and South Korea’s Hong Seo Jin, respectively. Jitesh (54kg) lost 0-5 against Kazakhstan’s Tulebek Nurassyl.