Indian wrestling on revival mode after two years of turmoil

young new delhi: A daylight after the unification sports ministry revoked the reprieve of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), it began to plan towards reviving the sport which has been in turmoil for the last two years. Bringing out a full-fledged domestic calendar, resuming national camps and sending teams for tournaments and exposure trips are WFI’s top priorities.

WFI on Wednesday set aside the criteria for taking part in selection trials for the Asian Wrestling Championships, opening it for medallists of all major international events. The trials will be held here on Saturday.

Wrestlers of Railways Sports Promotion Board could not participate in the senior nationals in Bengaluru this year due to restrictions imposed as WFI was suspended. “We have got requests from our top wrestlers that they want to participate. Medallists of World Championships (Sr and Jr), Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Paris Olympians – can come for the trials. The wrestlers have missed out on many competitions and we don’t want anyone to be left out,” a WFI official said.

Paris Olympics medallist Aman Sehrawat is among the RSPB wrestlers who will enter the trials. Olympians Deepak Punia, Antim Panghal and Reetika Hooda will also be there. It is from these trials that WFI must select the national campers (4 in each weight category). The national camps have not been held for almost two years. The wrestlers were preparing in their respective centres hoping that the impasse ends. The year started on a low as the Indian team could not participate in two ranking series events in Croatia and Albania in February. In all, wrestlers have missed six tournaments and with the possibility of their missing the Asian and world meets, the sports ministry revoked its suspension.

One of India’s best talents Reetika Hooda, who competed at Paris Olympics, bemoaned missing the rankings events. “The situation was very bleak. Our future was uncertain. We are rejoicing in our akhada since this news came (that suspension is lifted),” the Asian Championships and U23 Worlds medallist told HT.

“So many young wrestlers and their parents I know were thinking of quitting the sport. It was so bad. There was no domestic tournament, no national camps. We’ve suffered because camps were not held. I have been in camps from an early age and it has helped in my growth at the international level. We get a variety of partners and the facilities we get at akhadas cannot be matched. There is discipline and team bonding – all that helps you develop into a good wrestler,” she said.

The last two stop-start seasons have seen only a limited number of nationals held. In 2022, WFI held 18 domestic tournaments which included five National Championships (Senior, U15, U17, U20 and U23), besides Federation Cups, Open Ranking National and Grand Prix series tournaments. That number came down to just five last season. In 2023, two separate senior nationals were held, by WFI and IOA’s ad hoc committee. WFI said it is important to restart the calendar from April so that the wrestlers can prepare for internationals at the age-group level. The governance crisis has hit the emerging talent in a sport that has fetched India medals at every Olympics since 2008 Beijing.

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