Domestic wrestling competition will resume after nine months as the Senior National Championships will be held in Jaipur from January 2-5, the ad hoc committee announced on Friday.
Wrestling competitions at every age-group level came to a complete halt since the suspension of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in April following the protests by top wrestlers against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Teams for major international competitions and the Asian Games were picked after open trials were held by the ad hoc committee. But the biggest drawback was that no national camp could be held this year.
After the National Championships, the national campers will be picked and preparation will begin for the two Paris Olympics qualifiers. The championships will be organised by the Railways Sports Promotion Board.
“The ad hoc Committee for WFI has decided to organise the 2023 Senior freestyle, Greco Roman and women’s National Wrestling Championships from Jan 2 to 5, 2024,” said the notification.
It remains to seen whether top wrestlers Ravi Dahiya, Vinesh Phogat and Anshu Malik, who are all recovering from various injuries, will compete or not. Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, who competed at the Asian Games, would like to begin his season with the national championship.
The two vital events will be Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Kyrgyzstan from April 19-21 and World Olympic Qualifiers in Turkey from May 9-12. The ad hoc committee has already announced that wrestlers, who earn Paris Olympics quotas, will have to win selection trials at home to confirm their spots.