Wrestling: Youngsters keen to perform as Federation Cup set to begin
Even as bigger names are focusing on the upcoming Olympics, the Federation Cup wrestling tournament starting at the Maharaja Vibhuti Narain Singh Indoor Stadium on the Banaras Hindu University campus here on Wednesday is all set to provide good competitive exposure to the younger lot over the next three days.
National silver medallist Sahil Kundu (61kg), international Sonba Gongane (65kg), Asian under-15 Greco Roman medallist Omkar Patil (72kg), current Asian bronze medallist Antim Kundu (65kg), former Asian medallist Sushma Shokeen (55kg) and former World junior silver medallist Bipasha (76kg) are some of the wrestlers who have done well in national and international level competitions and will be among the notable names in the event.
“This is my last year as an under-23 wrestler. This kind of competition will prepare me for the upcoming Asian and world-level events,” said Patil.
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The freestyle competitions will be held on Wednesday, followed by women’s and Greco-Roman bouts on Thursday and Friday respectively.
Organising an elite-level event for the first time after United World Wrestling (UWW) lifted the suspension on the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in February, the federation officials looked keen on getting wrestling activities back on track in the home city of its new president Sanjay Singh.
The WFI has also made arrangements to hold the Athletes’ Commission elections on Wednesday in the backdrop of the Federation Cup. The UWW had stressed on it while revoking WFI’s suspension.
Eight athletes, former Worlds bronze medallist Narsingh Yadav (Maharashtra), Bharti Baghel (Uttar Pradesh), Khushboo Pawar (Gujarat), Nikki (Haryana), Rajeev Ranjan (Jharkhand), Sahil (Delhi), Smitha A.S. (Kerala) and Sweta Dubey (West Bengal), are in the fray for five posts. Two members each from 25 affiliated units will vote in these elections, being held under the supervision of returning officer Justice (retd) Anil Kumar Singh.