Drama unfolded at the wrestling trials in Sonipat on March 11 when Vinesh Phogat held up the start of the trials for the women's 50kg and 53kg categories. She insisted on receiving written assurance from the officials that there would be a final trial for the 53kg category before the 2024 Paris Olympics, despite her participation being in the 50kg category at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre.
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Vinesh resumes bout after ad-hoc committee agreed to her demands
After Ad-Hoc committee agreed to meet her demands, Vinesh went on to feature in the 50kg bout and defeated Shivani match with a score of 11-6, securing her spot in the Paris Olympics qualification tournament set to take place in Kyrgyzstan this April. Nevertheless, Vinesh faced defeat in the 53kg category, losing to Anju by a 0-10 margin due to technical superiority.
Vinesh, who previously competed in the 53kg category, has since moved down to the 50kg class following Antim Panghal's securing of an Olympic quota in the 53kg. According to Article 7 of the United World Wrestling (UWW) regulations, a wrestler is permitted to compete in only one weight class on any given day.
“Each contestant deemed to be taking part of his/her own free will, and responsible for himself/herself, shall be allowed to compete in only one weight category: the one corresponding to his weight at the time of the official weigh-in,” says Article 7 of UWW.
Big drama during selection trials
Despite regulations, Vinesh participated in trials for both the 50kg and 53kg categories on Monday morning (March 11) after obtaining permission to do so. This decision sparked a debate among officials and was met with dissatisfaction from other wrestlers scheduled to compete in the 50kg category, who voiced their concerns to the authorities. It's important to note that the IOA ad-hoc committee has declared that a final trial will be conducted to select India's 53kg category representative for the Olympics. In this trial, the top four wrestlers will vie for the spot, with the victor facing Antim Panghal. The winner of this match will then go on to represent India at the Olympic Games.
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