The consistent attacks from both the wrestlers in the fast-paced final bout had the fans on the edge of their seats as close to 1500 gathered at IGI stadium to watch their favourite star in action.
The Wrestling Federation of India is likely to pardon temporarily suspended Babita Kumari for forfeiting her bout in a recent qualifying event and allow her to compete at the Rio Games, as she secured an Olympic berth after her rival failed a dope test.
Wreslter Narsingh Yadav's chances of participating in the Rio Games have been boosted after the United World Wrestling, gave him a clean chit.
The Wrestling Federation of India, on Monday, threw its weight behind Narsingh Yadav, whose Olympic participation is in serious doubt after a failed dope test, saying the grappler is a victim of conspiracy.
With Narsingh Yadav's roommate Sandeep Yadav at the Sports Authority of India Sonepat camp also testing positive for the same banned substance, Wrestling Federation of India said that it strengthens the conspiracy theory and indicates at a clear case of sabotage.
They have been moved to a SAI empanelled hospital as a precautionary measure for further monitoring.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) said that the CBI has started its probe into the doping scandal of dope-tainted wrestler Narsingh Yadav after the PMO referred his case to the investigation agency.
A bitter court battle, followed by an embarrassing dope scandal, before some redemption through an Olympic medal -- Indian wrestling in 2016 mirrored the script of a Bollywood potboiler in which Sakshi Malik emerged as the new star on the horizon. For most part of the year, wrestling hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, making it a tumultuous Olympic build-up after two-time medallist Sushil Kumar found himself ousted from contention just a couple of months before the Games in Rio. The chain of events that set in ended up disgracing the sport before Sakshi emerged an unlikely saviour in the Brazillian city.
Narsingh Yadav's chances of representing India at the upcoming Olympics might have diminished further after a second failed dope test but the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is still hopeful of a favourable verdict by the NADA panel, saying that his lawyers, on Wednesday, presented a strong case.
The Wrestling Federation of India issued show cause notice to four wrestlers, including the Phogat sisters - Babita Kumari and Geeta - and handed them temporary suspension for indiscipline.
2018 was largely forgettable for Sushil Kumar -- India's only double Olympic-medallist -- and Sakshi Malik -- the country's first and only woman wrestler to win a medal at the biggest stage.
The 32-year-old wrestler, who a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and silver at the London Games in 2012, was omitted from the Wrestling Federation of India's Rio preparatory camp, which will begin in Sonepat on Wednesday.
It was Sushil Kumar's first tournament after a failed campaign at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, where he made a first-round exit.
Continuing to back dope-tainted wrestler Narsingh Yadav, a top Wrestling Federation of India official on Friday claimed the 74-kg freestyle wrestler would have clinched the silver medal had he taken part in the Rio Olympics instead of being banned for four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
uspended wrestler Narsingh Yadav objected to Sushil Kumar's appointment as a national observer, raising conflict of interest allegations in a letter to the Sports Ministry.
Four wrestlers were axed from the Indian squad on Thursday for failing dope tests barely a month before the Commonwealth Games begin there.
India's double-Olympic medal winning wrestler Sushil Kumar, on Saturday, conceded that he has met top officials of the WWE but ruled out any immediate move to professional wrestling.
Amidst the dilemma of double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar and Narsingh Yadav fighting each other for a place in the World Championships, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has decided to hold selection trials of the senior grapplers on July 6-7.
The Indian Olympics Association (IOA), on Thursday, said that it will not object to wrestler Narsingh Yadav replacing Praveen Rana in the Rio Olympics if he is cleared by NADA in an ongoing dope scandal.
His Olympic dream in jeopardy after a failed dope test, wrestler Narsingh Yadav claimed innocence, saying that the scandal is a conspiracy against him.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Sushil Kumar later ruled himself out of the running to take Narsingh's spot at Rio.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
A relieved Narsingh Yadav has said he is eager to go to the Olympics now and win a medal for the country.
Earlier this month, a few wrestlers including Deepak Punia had tested positive for coronavirus. The wrestlers had reported to the National Wrestling Camp at SAI Centre in Sonepat and when tested upon arrival, they returned positive.
The World Anti Doping Agency has rejected the National Anti Doping Panel verdict on wrestler Narsingh Yadav after he was given a clean chit to compete in Rio Olympic Games, according to reports on Monday.
The postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic may have opened the door for dope-tainted Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav to realise his dream of winning an Olympic medal. Yadav was handed a four-year doping ban just hours before his first bout at the Rio Olympics after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) won its appeal against an earlier exoneration.
Geeta has not competed much since she attempted to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games unsuccessfully.
"We can't be overwhelmed by defeats or victories. It won't lead you anywhere," Sushil added.
Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt's chances of the London Olympics medal being upgraded from bronze to silver is all but over but Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) claimed it was unaware of the development.
China's wrestlers will not be taking part in the Asian Championships beginning in New Delhi on Tuesday as they have not been granted visas by the government due to the novel coronavirus outbreak there, a top official of the national federation said on Monday. Wrestling Federation of India assistant secretary Vinod Tomar said that the government has denied visas to the 40-strong Chinese contingent.
The man who could have possibly 'spiked' wrestler Narsingh Yadav's food supplements has been identified.
These athletes made India proud four years ago.
In an embarrassment for India, ace female wrestler Vinesh Phogat was, on Saturday, disqualified from the 1st World Olympic Qualifying event for being overweight on a day when other women grapplers also failed to book Rio Games berth.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Former chief national wrestling coach Vinod Kumar expressed relief and contentment over Delhi High Court's directive to the Centre to confer him with the Dronacharya award.
Besides emerging victorious in the selection trials against Alka Tomar, Geetika Jakhar also won a court battle against the Wrestling Federation of India to obtain her right to compete in the Olympic qualifier.
India are grappling with a dilemma over who to select between the logical candidate or a sentimental favourite as the country's representative in men's 74kg freestyle wrestling at the Rio Olympics. Since winning India's quota place by capturing a bronze medal at last year's World Championship in Las Vegas, Narsingh Yadav had more or less taken his ticket to Brazil for granted. With the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) also backing the 26-year-old, it seemed his place was certain until double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar approached the Delhi High Court on Monday demanding a match between the pair to determine who should compete in Rio. "As asked by the court, we heard Sushil and noted his point. We'd submit our observations and will wait for the court's instruction," WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar told Reuters on Thursday.
The alleged conspiracy in the Narsingh Yadav dope scandal began to unravel, on Wednesday, with the wrestler identifying two fellow grapplers as the saboteurs, who contaminated his food with a banned steroid, in a formal police complaint.
Despite winning the case in the Delhi High Court against the Wrestling Federation of India, Geetika Jakhar's Olympic dream is still hanging by a thread as she is yet to get her visa for Helsinki, Finland, where the last qualifying event for London Games is starting on Thursday.
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