Olympic quota-winning wrestlers to feature in selection trials to book Paris Olympics spot
Four Indian wrestlers, who have won Paris Olympics quotas for the country, will have to go through final selection trials to confirm their qualification for the big ticket event.
According to Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh, the selection trials will take place in June. Four wrestlers from each category will compete against each other to book an Olympics spot.
Antim Panghal (53 kg), Vinesh Phogat (50 kg), Anshu Malik (57 kg), and Reetika Hooda (76 kg) are the wrestlers, who have secured quota places for India.
Here's what Singh said to The Indian Express on the selection trials:
“The selection committee has recommended that trials should be held. There will be four wrestlers in each category. The trials will be held as per our policy wherein each wrestler will face each other rather than the quota-winner meeting the challenger directly in the final."
However, the date and final format of the event will be announced after the World Olympic Games qualifier in Istanbul from May 9 to 12. This tournament will be crucial for the Indian wrestlers to secure an additional quota place.
As per United World Wrestling (UWW), every weight category will have three Paris Olympics spots: two for the finalists and one reserved for the winner between two bronze-medalists.
Here is the Indian squad for the World Olympic Games qualifier:
Freestyle: Aman (57kg), Sujeet (65kg), Jaideep (74kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Deepak (97kg), Sumit (125kg)
Greco-Roman: Sumit (60kg), Ashu (67kg), Vikas (77kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Nitesh (97kg), Naveen (130kg)
Women’s wrestling: Mansi (62kg), Nisha (68kg)
How many Indian wrestlers have clinched Paris Olympics quotas?
Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik, and Reetika Hooda bagged Paris Olympics quotas in the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in April 2024.
In her first international competition since 2022, Vinesh secured a 10-0 victory by technical superiority against Kazakhstan’s Laura Ganikyzy in the semi-finals.
Anshu clinched the quota with a technical superiority (11-0) over Uzbekistan’s Laylokhon Sobirova in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Reetika defeated Chinese Taipei’s Hui Tsz Chang 7-0 in the semis.
On the other hand, Antim Panghal confirmed her quota after winning the bronze medal at the World Championships last year.