Refuting reports suggesting that a ban has been imposed on wrestler Antim Panghal following a disciplinary breach at the Paris Olympics, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has clarified that no such ban has been enforced on the grappler.
Indian wrestler Antim Panghal lost to Zeynep Yetgil of Turkey in the women's 53 kg freestyle round of 16 bout at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
Antim, a senior World Championships bronze medallist, lost 10-0 to Turkiye’s Zeynep Yetgil, a two-time European Championships bronze winner.
Five badminton players have been conferred the Khel Ratna so far; Pullela Gopichand (2001), Saina Nehwal (2010), PV Sindhu (2016), Pramod Bhagat (2021) and Krishna Nagar (2021).
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.
17-year-old Haryana wrestler Antim Panghal became the first Indian woman wrestler to be crowned U-20 world champion with an 8-0 win over Atlyn Shagayeva of Kazakhstan in the world U-20 wrestling Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria.
