At the Olympics in Paris, six wrestlers from India will participate. Indian wrestlers will compete in the Games for the 21st time this year.
India’s wrestling campaign at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is scheduled to kick off on Monday at the Champ de Mars Arena in the French capital. Indian wrestlers will compete in the Games for the twenty-first time this year. Seven wrestlers from India competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; of them, Ravi Kumar Dahiya (men’s freestyle 57 kg) and Bajrang Punia (men’s freestyle 65 kg) won silver and bronze, respectively. None of them, though, advanced to the Paris Games qualifying round.
Who are India’s representatives in wrestling at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Aman Sehrawat is the lone male wrestler from India among the six competitors who will compete in the Olympics in Paris. The 20-year-old bronze medallist from the Asian Games and champion will compete in the 57kg freestyle division. One of India’s greatest hopes for the Olympics in Paris will be Aman, who took Ravi Dahiya’s place in the category. While Dahiya’s comeback was hampered by injuries, he might not be able to rise from the grave, but he certainly possesses the ability to absorb pressure and repel aggressor wrestlers.
All eyes will be on two-time Olympian Vinesh Phogat, who is competing in the 50kg category, in the women’s division. She had competed in the 48 kg event in Rio 2016 and the 53 kg event in Tokyo 2020. Not only does she possess two World Championships, three CWG, and eight Asian Championship medals, making her India’s most accomplished female wrestler, but she has also failed to establish herself on the biggest platform.
Vinesh suffered a strange leg injury in her quarterfinal match at the Rio Olympics in 2016, ending her campaign. After a devastating loss “by fall” in the quarterfinals four years later, she was charged with misconduct and suspended by the WFI for multiple alleged infractions. It all made her think about retiring. However, Vinesh retaliated and went on to fight the WFI chief, accusing him of having sex with someone else.
The protracted legal battle is still pending, but it has lost momentum. Vinesh suffered as a result since she was unable to compete in the World Championships, where Antim Panghal secured a spot in the 53kg division for the Paris Olympics. She responded by lowering her weight to 50 kg in order to qualify, but she faces a formidable task because she is not ranked in the draw, which is filled with experienced competitors.
Anshu Malik, a silver medallist in the women’s 57kg class at the Commonwealth Games, Reetika Hooda, the U-23 world champion and India’s lone representative in the heavyweight division, and Nisha Dahiya, the silver medallist in the women’s 68kg class at the Asian Championships, are among the other athletes. At the Paris Games, all three will be making their debut.
India’s schedule for wrestling at the 2024 Paris Olympics:
August 5 (6:30 PM IST) Women’s 68kg (Nisha Dahiya): Qualification bouts till Semifinals
August 6 (3:00 PM IST) Women’s 50kg (Vinesh Phogat): Qualification bouts till Semifinals
August 7 (3:00 PM IST) Women’s 53kg (Antim Panghal): Qualification bouts till Semifinals
August 8 (3:00 PM IST) Men’s frestyle 57kg (Aman Sehrawat): Qualification bouts till Semifinals Women’s 57kg (Anshu Malik):
August 10 (3:00 PM IST) Women’s 76kg (Reetika Hooda): Qualification bouts till Semifinals. (The repechage and medal bouts in all categories will played a day after quarterfinals).
