Both Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya were unsuccessful in the Sonipat national trials.
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Up-and-coming wrestlers, Asian champion Aman Sehrawat in the 57kg category and National champion Sujeet Kalkal in the 65kg class, each prevailed in their freestyle divisions during the selection trials for the approaching Asian championships and the qualifiers for the Asian Olympic Games conducted in Sonipat this past Sunday.
Their victories were notable as Tokyo Olympic silver and bronze medalists Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang Punia did not qualify for the Indian team. Sehrawat, who had previously bested his training partner Dahiya in a captivating round-robin match with a score of 14-13, went on to achieve a decisive 10-0 victory over Udit to claim the first position.
Dahiya was also defeated by Udit with a score of 10-8. The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) aimed to conduct a doping test on Punia, but he left before the match for the third and fourth places. Meanwhile, Kalkal defeated Rohit Kumar soundly with a 10-0 scoreline. Earlier, Rohit had secured a solid 9-1 win against Bajrang, who had eked out a narrow win against Ravinder, ending 3-3, on criteria.
Deepak Punia, who has previously won a silver medal at the World level in the 86kg class, cemented his spot for the Olympic qualifiers. The provisional committee had laid down that trial winners in Olympic weight categories would represent India in the upcoming Olympic qualifiers, which include the Asian Olympic qualifier from April 19-21 and the World Olympic qualifier from May 9-12.
Interestingly, Bajrang wasn’t alone in not cutting top-tier wrestlers, as Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Ravi Dahiya also missed out in the 57kg category trials, defeated by the promising Aman Sehrawat from their mutual training ground, Chhatrasal Akhada in New Delhi. Meanwhile, a fellow Olympian from Tokyo, Deepak Punia in the 86kg class, secured his spot by winning his trials.
Additionally, runners-up in Olympic weight categories and winners in non-Olympic weight classes are set to represent the nation at the Asian championships scheduled for April 11-16 in Bishkek. The 57kg men’s weight class, held in a Nordic round-robin style, was particularly competitive, with Tokyo Games silver medalist Ravi Dahiya and rising star Aman Sehrawat both vying for victory.
Aman, who claimed a bronze at the Asian Games, narrowly fended off a final challenge from Dahiya to win their bout. Dahiya then faced a setback against U20 Asian champion Udit and was thus eliminated from contention. To date, India has secured just one berth for the Paris Games, won by Antim Panghal in the women’s 53kg category.
Ever since last July when the Delhi High Court denied his legal challenge alongside female wrestler Antim Panghal, Sujeet Kalkal had one ambition: to compete in the Paris Olympics 2024 Qualifier no matter what. The court had affirmed an interim panel’s choice to let Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat compete directly in the Asian Games, for the 65kg men’s freestyle and 53kg women’s wrestling divisions respectively.
This committee, led by past Wushu Federation of India president Bhupinder Bajwa, had ignored the wrestlers’ pleas. This rejection meant that Sujeet failed to secure his place through the selection trials that followed and then suffered another defeat during qualifications for the 2023 World Championships, which also served as an Olympic qualifying tournament.
During this tough period for the 21-year-old, his father and coach, Dayanand Kalkal, kept him concentrated. His father’s guidance paid off when Sujeet claimed the 65kg title at the 2023 Goa National Games and became the national champion at this year’s senior national championships in Jaipur.
With the Asian Olympic Games Qualifier on the horizon in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, from April 19 to 21, Sujeet faced another shot at his goal. However, he must first triumph in the selection trials, where he’s once again pitted against Bajrang, a tough opponent who previously secured a direct Asian Games berth without going through trials, which had driven Sujeet to legal action.
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