Ashu, an Indian Greco-Roman wrestler, has been chosen in the squad for the second Wrestling Ranking series, Ibrahim-Moustafa tournament.
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The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports’ (MYAS) Oversight Committee announced a 27-member squad for the second Wrestling Ranking Series, Ibrahim-Moustafa competition. The commission has approved a 43-member Indian delegation, which includes 27 wrestlers for the competition, which will take place in Alexandria, Egypt from February 23 to February 26, 2023. The ranking points will be essential for gaining better seeding at the Senior World Championships and Senior Asian Championships in 2023. In addition to 16 coaches and support staff, the Indian squad consisted of ten Greco-Roman wrestlers, eight women wrestlers, and nine men’s freestyle wrestlers.
Ashu, an Indian Greco-Roman wrestler, was chosen for the team for the second series. He clinched the bronze in the men’s 67kg division at the first ranking series, the 2023 Zagreb Open, earlier this month in Croatia. In the bronze medal playoff match, Ashu defeated Adomas Grigaliunas of Lithuania by 5-0. When he competes in the second ranking series tournament, he will be hoping to increase his ranking points total. Ashu is also a member of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports’ flagship program, the Target Olympics Podium Strategy (TOPS). In addition to Ashu, other TOPS members include Bhateri in women’s freestyle (65 kg) and Sujeet in men’s freestyle (65 kg).
Read more: United World Wrestling (UWW) Calendar 2023: Know the Important Events for the Upcoming Year
Sushma Shokeen, the bronze medalist at the Asian Championships, has also been included. While, other prominent Greco Roman wrestlers like Manjeet, Ankit Gulia, and Narinder Cheema have also made it to the squad. The likes of Olympic and Commonwealth Games medalist Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Ravi Dahiya, Deepak Punia, and Bajrang Punia, as well as other big names in women’s and freestyle wrestling, have not been called upon to compete in this match. Many current and previous World Championship medalists will be competing in the second wrestling ranking series.
The Chairman of the Oversight Committee MC Mary Kom, said, “We want to ensure that the sport and the athletes do not suffer and more and more wrestlers get international exposure, so they can have the opportunity to compete against the best in the world.”
Men’s Freestyle: Udit (57 kg), Pankaj (61 kg), Sujeet (65 kg), Sagar Jaglan (74 kg), Pardeep (79 kg), Jonty Kumar (86 kg), Pruthviraj Patil (92 kg), Sahil (97 kg), Dinesh (125 kg)
Greco Roman: Manjeet (55 Kg), Vikram Krushnath Kurade (60 kg), Karanjeet (62 kg), Nitin (63 kg), Ashu (67 kg), Ankit Gulia (72 kg), Sajan (77kg), Rohit Dahiya (82 kg), Narinder Cheema (97 kg), Naveen (130 kg).
Women’s Wrestling: Sushma Shokeen (55kg), Sito (57 kg), Simran (59 kg), Sumitra (62 kg), Bhateri (65 kg), Radhika (68 kg), Reetika (72 kg), Kiran (76 kg).
Read more: National Wrestling Championships 2022: Women’s Freestyle Wrestling Results
