As the Paris Olympics 2024 are approaching, the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) temporary committee has announced the criteria for selecting Indian wrestlers for the upcoming edition of the games. According to the policy revealed on Saturday, the Indian wrestlers who have secured Olympic berths for India will face challengers on June 1, 2024. The winners in these matches will represent the country in their respective weight categories in Paris.
The wrestling events at the Paris Olympics 2024 will feature 18 weight classes, divided equally among men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle, and Greco-Roman categories. As of now, Antim Panghal is the only athlete among the Indian wrestlers to have earned an Olympic spot, having clinched a bronze in the women’s 53kg category at the World Wrestling Championship 2022. Panghal, who is a two-time under-20 World Champion, bagged a bronze at the Asian Games 2022. However, she initially served as a reserve before stepping in for the injured Vinesh Phogat. A potential clash between Panghal and Phogat is anticipated on June 1 for a place in the Paris Olympics 2024.
Who will the trials include?
Indian wrestlers will have the opportunity to secure an additional 17 Olympic slots through two upcoming tournaments – the Asian Olympic Games Qualifier in Kyrgyzstan in April and the World Olympic Games Qualifiers in Turkey in May 2024. The team for the mentioned qualifying events will be determined through trials in February. Panghal has been given a bye from these trials. The participants in the selection trials will include wrestlers from the Asian Games team, senior world championship contenders, open trial winners in the U17, U20, U23 categories, and this year’s senior nationals and National Games medalists.
Historically, India has achieved seven Olympic medals in wrestling, making it the country’s second most successful sport in the Olympics after hockey. The medalists include K. D. Jadhav (1952), Sushil Kumar (2008 and 2012), Yogeshwar Dutt (2012), Sakshi Malik (2016), Ravi Kumar Dahiya, and Bajrang Punia (2020). Among these, Dahiya, Punia, and Malik are still active in the sport.
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