Despite speculations and controversies surrounding the selection process, the IOA-constituted ad-hoc committee for wrestling has announced that it will retain the original criteria for the upcoming trials. These trials are aimed at forming the team that will represent the nation at next month's World Championships in Belgrade.
Scheduled to kick-off on September 16, the trials for the World Championships will take place in Patiala on August 25-26. Commenting on the situation, a committee member mentioned, "The trials for the Worlds will be conducted in Patiala as per the schedule announced two back back in all 10 weight categories in men's freestyle, greco-roman, and women's wrestling." The member, who wished to remain unidentified, clarified this on Wednesday.
Recent developments, including the decision of Vinesh Phogat (53kg) to withdraw from both the Hangzhou Asian Games and the World Championship trials due to a knee injury, had fuelled speculations. Rumors were rife that the ad-hoc committee would only carry out the trials for the four non-Olympic weight categories.
To provide context, wrestling has 10 weight categories in total: six being Olympic and the remaining four non-Olympic. The trials for the Olympic categories had already been carried out between July 22-23 in New Delhi. This was done to finalize the team for the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Several athletes who participated in the July trials voiced their concerns about the World Championship trials. Their main contention was the limited recovery time after the strenuous July sessions.
Interestingly, the decision to conduct two distinct sets of trials was primarily to accommodate prominent figures like Vinesh and Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia. Both had been excused from the July trials due to their active participation in a protest at Jantar Mantar, demanding more time for training.
While Vinesh's absence is attributed to her injury, Bajrang has yet to confirm his participation in the upcoming trials. This fueled speculations of a possible cancellation of trials for all Olympic categories, limiting them only to the non-Olympic divisions.
Addressing the issue, the committee member stated, "All six wrestlers, including Bajrang, will get another opportunity to prove themselves. We are awaiting their entries. This is a separate process and should not be connected to the earlier selection for the Asian Games."
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