Wrestling is one sport from which billion Indian fans are hoping for a clutch of medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Don’t blame the wrestling fans for their sky-high expectations – aspirations are bound to rise after Sushil Kumar won back-to-back medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, coupled with Yogeshwar Dutt’s monumental feat at London.
With the Rio Olympics just five months away, wrestling fans will be far from satisfied if the country’s grapplers cannot improve on their medal count of 2012 Olympics.
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Medal hopes can become a reality once our grapplers cross the ‘most significant hurdle’of qualifying for the Rio Olympics. So far, Narsingh Yadav has made the cut in the 74kg freestyle category by cornering a coveted bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas.
Of course, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has made no bones about the fact that Narisingh is not a sure-shot participant in the 74kg freestyle category as he will in all probability, grapple with Sushil Kumar to decide who will be the country’s representation in that category at Rio.
Asian Olympic Qualification to be held in Kazakhstan
A robust representation is what all Indian fans would hope for at Rio – in this context, the upcoming Asian Olympic Qualification tournament to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan from March 18 to 20, holds immense significance.
The 65-kg freestyle category will be under the scanner as star grappler Yogeshwar Dutt will be competing in Astana. Yogeshwar could have sealed his Olympic berth during the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, but an injured-induced pullout scuppered his chances.
24-year-old Maharashtra’s Rahul Aware will be grappling in the 57-kg freestyle category at the expense of talented Amit Kumar – the latter is tipped to be a great prospect for the future.
A lot will be expected from Satyawart Kadiyan, who will feature in the 97-kg freestyle category. Two other freestyle grapplers - Somveer (86kg) and Hitender (125kg) will have to also rise to the occasion in Astana. He again outwrestled his fierce rival Amit Dhankar in the trials.
Ravinder Singh – the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist – will carry the hopes of the country’s Greco-roman contingent as he will fight in the 59-kg category, while the likes of Ravinder (66kg), Gurpreet Singh (75kg), Ravinder Khatri (85kg), Hardeep Singh (98kg) and Naveen (130kg) will seek to complement his efforts.
Among the woman grapplers, Vinesh Phogat looks India’s best bet as she wrestles in the 48 kg category. Babita Kumari is coming off a series of injuries and shall compete in the 53 kg category. Vastly experienced grappler - Navjot Kaur (67kg) – will seek to use all her experience to pocket an Olympic berth. Talented Sakshi Malik (58kg), along with rookies Anita (63kg) and Kiran (75kg).
“We have to understand that because Sushil and Narsingh will fight in the trials for the 74kg freestyle category, our hopes of two medals has narrowed down to one as both used to earlier fight in different categories. We can genuinely hope of a bigger participation in Olympics,” says a WFI official.
