Wrestling trials: Ad hoc body still waiting for OCA reply
Vinayak Padmadeo
New Delhi, June 30
With only 15 days left for sending the entries for the Asian Games, there is still no clarity on the schedule or the format of the wrestling trials.
The ad hoc committee running the Wrestling Federation of India is still undecided on whether to hold the trials at one go or to hold two different sets of trials. The committee is still waiting for the reply from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to its request for extending the last date for sending the entries for the Asian Games. The OCA has set July 15 as the last date.
Meanwhile, during a meeting between the members of the committee today, it was discussed that the dates for the trials for the Asian Games and the World Championships should be announced latest by Tuesday.
Wrestling coaches Gyan Singh and Ashok Garg, who are also members of the ad hoc panel, met the committee’s head, Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, today.
Bajwa is hopeful of hearing from the OCA by Tuesday, Gyan said. If the OCA decides to extend the deadline then they will hold the trials at one go as the protesting wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, would get enough time to get into shape, Gyan said. If the OCA decides otherwise then they will have to sit out of the Asian Games, the senior coach added.
“We had a constructive meeting today. Bajwa sat with us for over an hour and we discussed how to hold fair trials for everyone. It all depends on the OCA’s reply, which according to Bajwa is expected to come by Monday or Tuesday,” Gyan told The Tribune.
“But one thing is sure that we need to announce the trial dates by Monday or Tuesday as we need to factor in that the players and officials have to travel from other cities. If the last date is July 15, we need to at least hold the trials by July 10 or 11,” he added.
Gyan also clarified that the wrestlers who took part in the protest will not be part of this set of trials as they are not ready but opined that they can be accommodated in a fair manner.
“This is my personal opinion and one that we did not discuss with Bajwa today. The protesting wrestlers should be asked to fight the ones who lose in the first round. Whoever wins that round should then square up against the winner of the first set of trials,” he said.
“Suppose if the losing wrestler comes out as the winner against the protesting wrestler, he should then get another chance to fight against the one who won the first trial. This should happen, otherwise the ones who lose will not turn up against the protesters,” he added.
Sindhu writes to SAI for services of Malaysia’s Hashim
New Delhi: Indian badminton superstar PV Sindhu is trying to get the services of former All England Open champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia in her pursuit for an Olympics gold at next year’s Paris Games. The two-time Olympics medallist has written to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), seeking its approval to train under the Malaysian as part of the Sports Ministry’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). “I think SAI will approve her proposal. She is an elite player for India and is likely to be the only woman singles badminton player to qualify for Paris Olympics,” former national coach Vimal Kumar said. The proposal might come up in the next Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) meeting, where members of the MOC could discuss key agenda points of India’s Olympics programme and proposals of the TOPS athletes. “See, I don’t know how good his (Hafiz’s) coaching credentials are, but he has been a good player for 20 years. Sometimes all it takes is a spark,” Vimal said. PTI
