The Asian Wrestling Championships will kick off in Astana, Kazakhstan from April 9 onwards and will go on till April 14, the event will see India fielding a contingent featuring plenty of firepower despite the absence of names like Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik.
While Ravi is out of the event due to an injury, the other aforementioned wrestlers have opted to sit out of the event, as per Olympics.com. This Asian showpiece will be important in determining the road to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Although the Astana meet is not a direct qualifier for Paris 2024, the number of wrestlers fielded by each nation will determine how many wrestlers each nation can send to the 2023 World Wrestling Championships, which will be held in Belgrade in September. The first wrestling competition to qualify for Paris 2024 will be the world championships.
India has named a full quota of 30 wrestlers, with 10 apiece for the women’s, men’s freestyle, and Greco-Roman divisions. Other Asian powerhouses Japan, China, and the hosts Kazakhstan have all done so.
This increases their chances of being selected for Paris 2024 by allowing these nations to send 30 wrestlers at the World Championships.
Iran and Kyrgyzstan, two more Asian superpowers, have also named a sizable squad. China is anticipated to present a significant challenge to Indian wrestlers in Astana as it makes its return to the Asian Championships after a gap of four years.
India has plenty of firepower in the lineup to make an impression at the 36th iteration of the continental competition, despite the big names missing the Asian championship. The Indian wrestling squad is headed to Astana and includes medalists from previous world championships Deepak Punia, Anshu Malik, Sarita Mor, Under-20 world champion Antim Panghal, and U23 world champion Aman Sehrawat.
Selection trials held in New Delhi last month resulted in the selection of the Indian team to compete at the Asian Wrestling Championships in 2023.
Originally scheduled to take place in New Delhi, India, the men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman competitions of the Asian Wrestling Championships 2023 have both been moved to Astana.
The Indian squad: Women: Neelam Sirohi (50kg), Antim Panghal (53kg), Sito (55kg) Anshu Malik (57kg), Sarita Mor (59kg), Sonam Malik (62kg), Manisha (65kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg), Reetika Hooda (72kg), Priya Malik (76kg)
Men’s freestyle: Aman Sehrawat (57kg), Pankaj (61kg), Anuj Kumar (65kg), Mulayam Yadav (70kg), Yash Tushir (74kg), Deepak (79kg), Jonty Kumar (86kg), Deepak Punia (92kg), Deepak Nehra (97kg), Anirudh Gulia (125kg).
Greco Roman: Rupin (55kg), Sumit (60kg), Neeraj Chhikara (63kg), Ashu Bazard (67kg), Vikas (72kg), Sajan Bhanwala (77kg), Rohit Dahiya (82kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Narender Cheema (97kg), Naveen Sevlia (130kg).