Ravi Dahiya, Deepak Punia’s Tokyo Olympics preparation hit roadblock due to visa and COVID-19 vaccine
Indian wrestlers (bound for the Tokyo Olympics) Ravi Dahiya (57 kg) and Deepak Punia (86 kg) will have to wait a little longer before they can train in Russia. The duo will continue training in Warsaw until they get a visa clearance to join Bajrang Punia (65 kg) in Vladikavkaz for the Tokyo Olympics preparatory camp.
“We are still trying to get a clearance for their Russia visa but there has not been any progress. We are hoping the problem gets solved as soon as possible. We have requested Poland’s Indian embassy to issue the visa at the earliest,” a WFI official told Sportskeeda.
Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia were part of the Indian contingent for the recently held Poland Open Ranking Series. While Dahiya bagged silver after a shaky performance, Punia withdrew from the competition due to an elbow injury.
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Dahiya, whose leg defense was exposed during the Ranking Series, said the trip to Russia will help him overcome the shortcomings. Unhappy with his performance in Warsaw, the 23-year-old added that the Soviet nation houses quality sparring partners and it will help him improve his game.
“In India, we have a different style of training compared to countries like Russia and Hungary. These countries have good in-ground wrestling and leg defense and attacks, it will help me a lot in my Tokyo Olympics preparations,” he had told SportsKeeeda.
It’s been nearly two weeks since the Poland Open Ranking Series concluded and the freestyle grapplers are yet to start their full-fledged Tokyo Olympic training.
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This is not the only problem the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) faces. To add to the wrestling duo’s woes, the COVID-19 vaccination has also become a problem for them.
The duo received their first dose of Covidshield jab in India. But its availability in Russia is still a question mark for WFI.
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“They have received their first dose. We do not know if Covidshield is available in Russia or not. If it's not available, Ravi and Deepak will have to return to India to get their second dose,” the WFI official said.
Four Indians seeded for Tokyo Olympics
Meanwhile, Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya, Deepak Punia and Vinesh Phogat ( 53 kg women's wrestling) have been seeded for the Tokyo Olympics. Seema Bisla (50 kg), Anshu Malik (57 kg) and Sonam Malik (62 kg), on the other hand, are unseeded.