Wrestling: WFI to allow only ‘genuine’ wrestlers to compete at trials

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will allow wrestlers from their original states to compete at the upcoming trials and one grappler will be allowed to participate in more than one category over two days of selection competition, starting March 10.

In its circular issued on Tuesday, the WFI, wrote, “Wrestlers who participated in Senior National Championship held at Jaipur will bring their WFI Licence Book, Birth Certificate, and Aadhar Card to verify the genuineness of their state.”

“Several wrestlers, who actually hailed from Haryana, represented states like Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim at the Nationals conducted by the ad-hoc committee in Jaipur. This is wrong and we will now allow this,” a WFI source told PTI.

“Sikkim and Arunachal are not even affiliated state bodies. We will not stop anyone from competing but wrestlers have to come from their original state. Even if a genuine wrestler comes from Arunachal, we will allow him as a special invitee,” said the source.

The trials are being held to select the teams for the Asian Championships and Asian Olympic Games Qualifiers, both scheduled to be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

With two sets of senior National Championships taking place earlier this year, the WFI has told the grapplers coming for the crucial upcoming national trials to bring all necessary documents to prove their “genuineness”.

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The suspended WFI had organised the Nationals in Pune in January, while the sports ministry-constituted ad-hoc committee had conducted a similar exercise in Jaipur from February 2-5.

The WFI has also said that wrestlers competing in a weight category on March 10 — the first day of the trial — can also compete in a different weight category on the second day in another weight category.

“It will ensure that if a strong wrestler like Aman Sehrawat or Ravi Dahiya misses out on selection in the Olympic weight category (57kg) then he can get a chance in the non-Olympic weight category (61kg). That way we will have a strong Indian squad.”

The WFI also gave Antim Panghal, the only Indian grappler so far to secure an Olympic quota, exemption from the March 10-11 trials. She will, however, compete against the winner of the trials at a later date this month.