Senior Wrestling Nationals to be held in Gonda from November 19 to 21

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has announced the dates for this year’s Senior National Wrestling Championships. The wrestling nationals will be held from November 19 to 21 at the Nandini Nagar Sports, Nawabganj, Gonda in Uttar Pradesh.

The federation has sent out invitations to state federations, the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) and Service Sports Promotion Board (SSCB).

WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar exclusively told Sportskeeda:

“We have sent out the invitation to the state federation and other affiliated boards. The last to send the entries is November 4.”

However, due to the pandemic and the possibility of a third wave later this year, the wrestling federation has reduced the number of officials per team.

“Each association can send a maximum of 10 wrestlers and two coaches in freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling,” Tomar added.

Earlier, federations were allowed to send the top three finishers to the competition. However, this time only two wrestlers (per association) can participate in each weight category.

It will be the second senior wrestling national to be held this year. The federation had organized the delayed 2020 championships earlier in January due to the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the U23 senior nationals for each wrestling style will be held from September 16 to 19 in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.

WFI president on wrestling's future in India

WFI president Brij Bhuhan feels organizing the nationals in UP is helping wrestling garner popularity outside Haryana – the hub of Indian wrestling.

“Wrestling has recently seen a surge in followers in Uttar Pradesh. And with UP now adopting the sport, we are confident the future is bright for Indian wresting.”

The Yogi Adityanath-led government is expected to pump in an investment of Rs 170 crore in infrastructure and support the wrestlers until the 2032 Olympics.

"With this happening, sponsorships will not be restricted to just country's elite wrestlers. Even the Cadet level wrestlers will get sponsorship and we wil able to give prize money to even national champions," he added.