Bajrang Punia to travel to Kyrgyzstan for Asian Games preparations; skips World Championship trails

2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Bajrang Punia skipped the trails for the upcoming World Championships, which took place in Patiala on Saturday, August 26. The veteran is now scheduled to travel to Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan to train for the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou.

By skipping the trials for the world event, Bajrang has made it clear that he would focus fully on the Asian Games, which is scheduled to take place from September 23 to October 8.

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"Bajrang did not appear for the trials for the Worlds in Patiala today. He has submitted his fitness certificate as required by the Sports Authority of India and should leave for Kyrgyzstan shortly to train for the Asian Games," Gian Singh, the member of the IOA-constituted ad-hoc committee for wrestling, was quoted as saying on Saturday.

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Aman Sehrawat through to World Championships

Deepak Punia also skipped the trials. Aman Sehrawat, in the meantime, secured his spot in the World Championships after defeating Atish Todkar in the final of the men’s 57kg freestyle category.

Along with Aman, Akash Dahiya will also be donning the India colors in the 61kg. Dahiya got the better of Neeraj and made his way into the world event. Anuj Kumar, on the other hand, will be representing the Indian team in the 65kg category.

Among other names, Abhimanyu defeated Mulayam Yadav and made his way through to the world championships in the 70kg category. Naveen beat Sagar Jaglan to come up trumps in the 74kg trials.

In the 79kg men’s freestyle, Sachin More beat Rohit Guliya in the 79kg men's freestyle and will be flying to Budapest.

Recently the UWW banned the Wrestling Federation of India after the WFI failed to conduct its elections on time. It means that Indian athletes cannot compete in the World Championships under the Indian flag and will be there as "neutral athletes."

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