Bajrang Punia banned, Phogat turns politician, WFI suspension, litigations, and lost medals: How Indian wrestling stagnated in 2024
Following is India's schedule of Day 15 of competitions at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the Indian contingent which returned from the Paris Olympics with six medals.
Mixing strong defence with measured attack, young wrestler Antim Panghal won her second World Championship medal with a dominating 9-1 victory over U-23 World Champion Emma Jonna Denise Malmgren in the bronze play-off in Zagreb on Thursday, ensuring that the Indian contingent won't return empty-handed from the Croatian capital.
India's men's freestyle wrestlers endured a tough day in the field as all five in action on Saturday bowed out of the Asian Championships.
Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Aman Sehrawat, along with former world championship bronze-winner Geeta Phogat, on Monday announced that they would soon launch a Wrestling Champions Super League (WCSL)
World Championships medallists Deepak Punia and Antim Panghal were among 30 Indian wrestlers selected for the Senior Asian Championships to be held in Amman, Jordan from March 25-30.
Aman Sehrawat missed out on securing a berth for the Paris Games after losing his semi-final at the Asian Olympic Qualifier.
India's 2024 Paris Olympics medallists, including star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and shooter Manu Bhaker, were felicitated with cash awards by the Indian Olympic Association.
Wrestlers Antim, Aman seeded at Paris Olympics
They weren't up for a windfall even after the trophy but life was certain to get a lot better as some sponsors and state governments stepped up to lift them financially.
Indian wrestler Anshu Malik, a strong medal hope for the Paris Olympics, suffered a shoulder strain during training.
Sonam Malik (65kg) and Kiran (76kg) also lost their respective semi-finals in the women's competition to go out of the gold medal race as four of the five Indians in action fell at the last-four stage.
Shooter Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics while Gukesh was crowned the World Chess Champion in Singapore, last month.
Following is India's schedule on Thursday, Day 13 of competition at the Paris Games:
After a disappointing 2024 season, the senior Asian Championships will provide an opportunity for Indian wrestlers like Antim Panghal and Deepak Punia to make a fresh start.
Indian wrestlers have not missed a medal since the 2008 Beijing Games and the onus is now on Vinesh Phogat & Co to continue the trend.
The Prime Minister termed the athletes as "India's soldiers of 2036 Olympics".
Chirag Chikkara created history as he became only the third Indian to be crowned Under-23 World champion.
Japan's Olympic champion Rei Higuchi offered his support to Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was debarred from her final in the Paris Games for being 100gm above the prescribed weight limit.
Reetika Hooda became only the second Indian and first woman wrestler from the country to emerge World champion after her title triumph in the 76kg event at the Under-23 World Championships, in Tirana, Albania, on Friday.
Punia had trained in Russia to prepare for the trials, which are being organised by the IOA ad-hoc panel.
Manu Bhaker has been shockingly ignored for this year's Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, a top sports ministry source has asserted
Check out how India's athletes fared on Day 13, Thursday, August 8.
Abhimanyu entered the bronze-medal playoff but other Indian free-style wrestlers had a disappointing day at the World Championships in Belgrade on Sunday.
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.
The para-athletes outnumbered the able-bodied ones in the list this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver.
Ashu, who had lost Iran's Reza Mahdi Abbasi 9-0 in the qualification round, came back strongly in the repechage bouts
Really pained by events in Indian wrestling but hopeful of two medals: Yogeshwar Dutt
Meet India's top athletes at Olympics 2024.
Unheralded Atish Todkar caused a huge upset by knocking out Olympic silver medallist Ravi Dahiya with a sensational 'pin'.
The Wrestling Federation of India on Tuesday decided to exempt all six Olympic quota winners from selection trials.
India will go unrepresented in five categories at the upcoming Zagreb Open in Croatia as Bajrang Punia, Antim Panghal and three others didn't give consent for their selection to the ad-hoc panel that announced a 13-member team on Tuesday.
The Greco Roman style, a poor cousin of free style wrestling in India, had a lot cheer with historic three-medal performance at the U-23 World Championships through Sajan Bhanwala, Nitesh and Vikas.
Repechage gives losing wrestlers from the pre-quarterfinal round onwards a shot at the bronze medal if the winning grappler makes it to the title round.
Indian wrestlers return with six medals
Only one male and five female wrestlers qualified for the upcoming edition. Here's a look at the strength and weakness of all the six contenders.
India will send 117 athletes to the Paris Olympics, starting July 26 in the French capital. This will be India's second-biggest contingent at an Olympic Games after 121 athletes went to Tokyo in 2021. A total of 47 female and 70 male athletes will be part of the Indian contingent at the Games.
Six medals from a 117-strong contingent is not ideal but India had its moments of joy, hope, frustration, and heartache.
You don't prep for 2028 but for 2040, or even 2044. Sustained sporting excellence is based on mass support, grassroots development, and funding - and it is this trifecta India needs to work on, systematically, asserts Prem Panicker.
