FAR away from the main stadia, but still a well patronised sports facility was the Punjab Armed Police indoor stadium in Jalandhar, where the wrestling events were conducted. The Rs. 2-crore facility, in which the Punjab Police had taken special interest, had been built for the conduct of high class indoor games like basketball and volleyball other than wrestling.
Of course wrestling is a popular sport in this part of the region with a healthy rivalry always among the three key states, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. It was thus not a surprise to see the good attendance in the gallery for the bouts.
Considering that this indoor hall was inside the PAP campus every effort was made by the police personnel to ensure that the entry and passage to the venue for everyone was least obtrusive. The uniformed force needed to be complimented for this gesture, considering the sports arena was in a zone where security has to be tight.
The four-day competition attracted the cream of wrestlers, including Olympian Gurbinder Singh, who had taken part in Sydney 2000. Wrestlers came from Haryana, UP, Delhi, MP, Chandigarh, SSCB, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Manipur, Nagaland and even Kerala (women) apart from Punjab. In all 176 participants were there.
Then there was an array of former Olympians to patronise the competition such as Kartar Singh, Sudesh Kumar, Premnath, Jagrup Singh, Kuldip Singh and Vinod Kumar among others. There was also the 80-year-old A. R. Bhargav, who had taken part in the 1948 London Olympics. Most of them, in their times, had been among the best in Asia.
The competition had two days of preliminary rounds before the final or medal rounds. Keen bouts, some of them tough, marked the show. Sure, blood was spilt but as a veteran put it, "it is all part of the sport".
In the men's section the competition was of two kinds: the free style-as the term indicates no holds barred - and Greco-Roman where only the upper torso should be grabbed for locks. Expectedly, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi had a rich haul of medals. There may not be many from the south in this sport of muscles, but Kerala had a medal winner in Jasmine in the women's section. With a colourful ambience and ceremony-rich medals presentation, the wrestling event provided a remarkable picture of the sport in present times.
The final placings:Men: Free style: 56 kg: 1. Manoj (Har), 2. Jogeshwar (Del), 3. Rakesh (Pun); 58 kg: 1. Dharampal (Har), 2. Raj Kumar (UP), 3. Bijender Singh (Del); 63 kg: 1. Ombir (Pun), 2. Sokender (UP), 3. Jagbir (Del); 69 kg: 1. Mukesh (Pun), 2. Chand (Chd), 3. Ramesh (Raj); 76 kg: 1. Pawan Kumar (Pun), 2. Ajmer (Har), 3. Narender (Del); 85 kg: 1. Anuj Choudhary (UP), 2. Sandeep Kumar (Pun), 3. Dharamvir (Har); 97 kg: 1. Rakesh Patel (MP), 2. Bhagat Singh (UP), 3. Anil Mann (Pun); Plus 97 kg: 1. Youdhbir Singh (Del), 2. Jagdish Kali (UP), 3. Parminder (Pun).
Greco-Roman: 54 kg: 1. Mukesh (Del), 2. N.B. Singh (SSCB), 3. Sarup (Pun); 58 kg: 1. Rajinder Singh (Pun), 2. Anand (Har), 3. Satish Kumar (Chd); 63 kg: 1. Gurbinder Singh (Pun), 2. Joginder Singh (Har), 3. Jitender (Del); 69 kg: 1. Karam Vir (Pun), 2. Dilbag (Har), 3. Shamsher (WB); 76 kg: 1. Ranbir Singh (Pun), 2. Sanjay (Del), 3. Bache Lal (UP); 85 kg: 1. Davender Singh (Pun), 2. Kuldeep Singh (SSCB), 3. Mukesh (Del); 97 kg: 1. Satish Kumar (Pun), 2. Ved Pal (WB), 3. Kulbir (Chd); Plus 97 kg: 1. Virender (Har), 2. Kirpal Singh (Pun), 3. Rambir (SSCB).
Women: 46 kg: 1. Somail (Del), 2. Ramanichanu (Mani), 3. Poonam (Har); 51 kg: 1. Neha Rathee (Har), 2. Kamini Yadev (Del), 3. Renu Bala (Pun); 56 kg: 1. Alka Tomar (UP), 2. Sunita Sharma (Har), 3. Naresh (Pun); 62 kg: 1. Geetika (Har), 2. Manisha (Del), 3. Kiran Chanu (Mani); 68 kg: 1. Kiran Sihag (Del), 2. Suman Preet (Pun), 3. Jasmine (Ker); 75 kg: 1. Gursharan Preet (Pun), 2. Sonika (Har), 3. Pramita Devi (Mani).
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