Akash Dahiya emerges freestyle 61kg champion at the National Wrestling Championships

Promising wrestler Akash Dahiya gave a commanding performance to emerge as the freestyle 61kg champion on the concluding day of the National wrestling championships at the Railway Stadium here on Monday.

Dahiya of Services outsmarted Sahil Kundu of Haryana 11-0 by technical superiority in the final.

The 23-year-old dominated the title clash to notch up six points and gained further when Kundu challenged a decision unsuccessfully and conceded one more point at the stroke of the first period.

Dahiya, who competed in the elite World championships last year, launched a quick attack early in the second period for a takedown. He added two more points to win comfortably.

There was chaos over accepting entries from various units, including several non-affiliated units of the ‘suspended’ Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), in the run-up to the freestyle competitions.

A big number entries (325 in total instead of a figure between 250 and 300) – including an unusual 32 apiece in the heavier weights such as 97kg and 125kg – from 34 units, also comprising Services and Railways, resulted in a delayed start of more than two hours. Members from 25 units, excluding two Government departments, were eligible for voting in the WFI elections.

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Even as several affiliated state units did not send their teams, one could witness representation from some non-traditional states and union territories, such as Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar, Sikkim and Lakshadweep, amid claims that several Haryana wrestlers competed from different units.

A source in the ad-hoc committee that runs the WFI said the panel wanted to accommodate everyone who came here to compete. “The Pune event, which was not recognised by the Government, created confusion. We did not want to deny anyone a chance,” said the source.