Final chance for Indian wrestlers to qualify for Paris Olympics 2024

Indian wrestlers in the Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Women’s categories will have a final chance to qualify for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics when they take part in the World Olympic Games Qualifiers (WOGQ) in Istanbul next week.

The World Olympic Games Qualifiers, which will be played from May 9 to 13, is the last chance for Indian grapplers to qualify for the Olympics. The wrestlers in the freestyle and Greco Roman categories disappointed at the Asian Qualifiers in Bishkek earlier this month when they drew a blank.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has decided that the same squad that competed in the Asian Qualifiers will be in action at the final Olympic Qualifying tournament. The decision to send the same wrestlers is due to the paucity of time to conduct fresh trials.

Asian Games 2018 gold medallist Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Anshu Malik (57 kg), and U23 world champion Reetika (76kg) will not travel to Istanbul as they sealed their berths for the Olympics at the Asian Qualifiers.

There are 54 Olympic quota places in total up for grabs in the Istanbul tournament and the Indian wrestlers have a good chance of sealing a few places.

The United World Wrestling, in a statement, said every category offers three spots. “Every weight category offers three Paris Olympic spots—one each to the two finalists and one to the winner of the playoff between the two bronze medallists. Greco-Roman will kick off the competition on May 9 followed by women’s wrestling and freestyle, finishing it on May 13,” a statement from the wrestling governing body read.

The six weight classes in three wrestling styles will have a total of 54 quota places.

Indian team for the World Olympic Games Qualifiers:

Freestyle: Aman (57kg), Sujeet (65kg), Jaideep (74kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Deepak (97kg) and Sumit (125kg)

Greco-Roman: Sumit (60kg), Ashu (67kg), Vikas (77kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Nitesh (97kg) and Naveen (130kg)

Women: Mansi (62kg) and Nisha (68kg)