Wrestling
Aman, Vinesh, Deepak strive for Olympic quotas at Asian Qualifiers
Aman and Deepak in the men's segment and Vinesh and Anshu in women's wrestling will fight for Paris Olympics quotas at the Asian Qualifiers.
Aman Sehrawat, Vinesh Phogat and Deepak Punia are in the fray for Paris Olympics quota places at the Asian Qualifiers in Kyrgyzstan's Bishkek.
Top Indian wrestlers like Aman Sehrawat and Deepak Punia in men's freestyle and Vinesh Phogat and Anshu Malik in women's wrestling have set their eyes on Paris Olympics quota places at the Asian Olympics Qualifiers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, starting from April 19-21.
Former Asian champion Aman Sehrawat is one of the clear favourites to win an Olympic quota place in the men's 57 Kg category.
He entered the tournament as the second-seeded wrestler and will face Kazakhstan's Yerassyl Mukhtaruly in the first round. His potential quota clash will be against Uzbekistan's renowned wrestler Gulomjon Abdullaev in the semifinal.
Deepak Punia, who lost a precious Olympic medal in the final seconds of his bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, is ready to give one more shot in men's 86 Kg. He has a tricky draw at this competition where he will face Japan's Ishiguro in the quarterfinals and if he wins that, then he will be up against his rival Magomed Saripov of Bahrain.
In women's wrestling, Vinesh Phogat returning to international competition after a prolonged break following the wrestlers' protest, will be eyeing a quota place in the women's 50 Kg category. She has a pretty easy draw comparatively where she can have an easy run till semis and then will meet Kazakhstan's Shakarshoeva for the quota place.
India will also hope for quota spots in the women's 57 Kg category from renowned wrestler Anshu Malik. Also competing is, the U23 world champion, Reetika in the 76 Kg category.
India's best bet in Greco-Roman will be Sumit in the lightweight 60 Kg category where all the top nations had already secured quota places through the World Championships. Sumit's toughest match will be in the first round against the DPR Korea wrestler.
Indian Squad
Men's Freestyle: - Aman Sehrawat (57 Kg), Sujeet Kalkal (65 Kg), Jaideep (74 Kg), Deepak Punia (86 Kg), Deepak (97 Kg ), Sumit (125 Kg)
Women's Freestyle:- Vinesh Phogat (50 Kg), Anshu Malik (57 Kg), Mansi (62 Kg), Nisha Dahiya (68 Kg), Reetika (76 Kg)
Men's Greco Roman:- Sumit (60 Kg), Ashu (67 Kg), Vikas (77 Kg), Sunil Kumar (87 Kg), Nitesh (97 Kg), Naveen (130 Kg)
Schedule
19th April:- Men's Freestyle Wrestling
20th April:- Women's Freestyle Wrestling
21st April:- Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling
Details
Time:- Morning session (10:00 AM IST), Quota matches (5:30 PM IST)
Venue:- Bishkek Arena
Place:- Vinogradnaya Street, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Quota Available:- Two in each category
Live Streaming
The Live streaming of the Asian Olympics Qualifier in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, will be available on the official website of United World Wrestling (UWW). The fans will have to take a subscription to their platform UWW+ to watch the event.
