“After the Istanbul event, we will decide whether to conduct trials for the Olympics” - WFI president Sanjay Singh

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh has stated that since the Summer Games quota places belong to the country, it’s up to the selection committee to decide whether to directly let the quota winners compete in the quadrennial event or hold trials before finalizing the team.

The selection committee of the WFI will have to wait until the final qualifying event for the Paris Olympics 2024 - the World Olympic Games Qualifier, which is scheduled to be held in Istanbul from May 9 to 12, before deciding whether to hold trials to select the Indian contingent for the mega event in Paris.

“After the Istanbul event, we will decide whether to conduct trials for the Olympics. The selection committee will decide that. The selection rule says we should have trials. Hope trials will be conducted before sending the team,” Sanjay told Sportstar.

The rules book published by the Wrestling Federation of India website states:

“The selection committee of WFI will have the discretion to hold a trial for participation in the Olympic Games. However, it will not be compulsory that all the quota earned wrestlers will be asked to appear in trials.”

Sanjay Singh disappointed with Indian wrestling results so far

So far, India has secured four quota places for the Paris Olympics 2024 - all by women wrestlers. Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Anshu Malik (57kg) and Reetika (76kg) earned their quotas after their exceptional performances in the recent Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Kyrgyzstan. Antim Panghal (53kg) secured her spot with a bronze medal at the World Championships last year.

Speaking about the poor performance of the Greco-Roman wrestlers at the recently concluded Asian Qualifiers in Bishkek, Sanjay Singh expressed his disappointment. He attributed the dismal performances to the absence of a camp.

“The results should have been much better in the Asian Olympic qualifier. The reason for that is after the trials on March 10 and 11, there should have been a camp which did not happen. The main reason why Greco Roman wrestlers fared so poorly is, whereas freestyle wrestlers get to train in different akharas, there are not too many Greco Roman wrestlers in akharas. So they don’t get good sparring. A camp provides them good sparring opportunities,” Sanjay Singh stated.

It’s important to note that the WFI selection panel will have a meeting on Monday, April 29, to decide whether to conduct another trial before the Istanbul qualifier.