WFI president Sanjay Singh confirms Olympic quota wrestlers to represent India at Paris 2024, no selection trials to be held

NEW DELHI: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president, Sanjay Singh, has announced that the wrestlers who have already secured Olympic quotas will represent India at the Paris Olympics 2024, and no trials will be conducted for selection. This announcement puts an end to the speculation surrounding the selection process for the upcoming Olympics.
Previously, there were reports suggesting that trials might be held to select the wrestlers for the Paris Olympics. Vinesh Phogat, a World Championships medalist, had requested the WFI, Centre, and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to provide details about the trials, including the date, venue, and format.
However, Nisha and Reetika, two women wrestlers who recently won Olympic quotas for India, had appealed to the WFI not to hold trials, citing reasons such as limited time before the Olympics, the risk of injuries, and the need to lose weight for trials.
Sanjay Singh revealed that the decision was made during a meeting of the trials committee, which included selection committee members and coaches of both the men's and women's teams.
"All decided that whoever got the quota, will represent India in the Olympics," stated Sanjay. He expressed hope that this decision would bring relief to the players, allowing them to focus on their training. The WFI has pledged to provide the best training facilities abroad for the athletes, in consultation with their coaches.
Yogeshwar Dutt, a former Olympic medalist wrestler, supported the decision, noting that it has been a common practice in the past to send Olympic quota winners to represent the country in the games. He acknowledged the confusion among players caused by the ad hoc committee's earlier statements about conducting trials. Dutt emphasized the importance of clarity for the athletes and expressed hope for at least two medals in wrestling at the Paris Olympics, highlighting the energy and morale of the new generation of wrestlers.
India concluded their campaign at the World Olympic Wrestling Qualifiers in early May, securing two more Olympic quotas through Aman Sehrawat and Nisha Dahiya in men's and women's wrestling, respectively. This brought the total number of quotas won by Indian wrestlers to six. Antim Panghal (53kg), Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), and Reetika Hooda (76kg) had previously secured quotas during the 2023 World Wrestling Championships and the Asian Qualifiers.
However, India were unable to secure a quota in Greco-Roman wrestling, with Sunil Kumar, an Asian Games bronze medalist, being eliminated in the repechage round of the men's 87kg category. Notable wrestlers such as Ravi Kumar Dahiya, a silver medalist in the 57kg category at the Tokyo Olympics, and Deepak Punia, who finished fifth in the 2020 Olympics, also failed to make it to the Indian team for the qualifiers.
(Inputs from ANI)