Off-side: Indian sport plagued by disappointing setbacks

While Indian wrestling is once again entangled in a labyrinth of its own making, the Indian women’s cricket team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, brought disrepute to the game and the nation with her petulant behaviour during a bilateral series in Bangladesh.

The Indian women’s cricket team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, brought disrepute to the game and the nation with her petulant behaviour during a bilateral series in Bangladesh. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

In the recent fortnight, Indian sport has found itself mired in a whirlwind of controversies. While Indian wrestling is once again entangled in a labyrinth of its own making, the Indian women’s cricket team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, brought disrepute to the game and the nation with her petulant behaviour during a bilateral series in Bangladesh.

Indian wrestling — the second most successful sport for the country at the Olympics with seven medals — is witnessing discontent around the selection process for the Asian Games. The Indian Olympic Association-appointed ad hoc body to govern the Wrestling Federation of India, in its wisdom or its lack thereof, has contentiously bestowed direct entries to Bajrang Punia (men’s 65kg) and Vinesh Phogat (women’s 53kg), enraging the many hopefuls.

Exemptions from trials are traditionally offered by the WFI to those who have clinched World Championship medals the same year — a measure designed to safeguard against fatigue and injuries stemming from multiple weight cuts. But the World Championship bronze medals of Vinesh and Bajrang were secured in Belgrade a year prior to the postponed Asian Games.

Junior World champion Antim Panghal, and Vishal Kaliraman now bear the brunt of this committee’s seemingly arbitrary judgment. Despite their spirited triumph in the trials, they find themselves cast aside as mere standbys. Antim and Sujeet’s (the latter lost in the semifinal of the men’s 65kg) plea for redressal before the Delhi High Court was dismissed. The court ruled: “The Asian Games are to begin in about two months’ time and in case injury is caused to the elite athletes, who are medal probables, the time for recovery is extremely low and, therefore, the decision taken by the Committee to exempt Respondents No. 3 & 4 from selection trials in order to ensure that they are not exposed to injuries during trials cannot be said to be arbitrary or capricious or perverse.”

Nonetheless, Vinesh and Bajrang are expected to participate in the trials for the World Championships, the gateway to the 2024 Paris Olympics. The ad hoc committee has indicated that these trials must be conducted before August 10 — a mere month-and-a-half prior to the Asian Games, forcing the athletes to shed weight and regain fitness within a distressingly short timeframe.

The Asian Games trial winners — citing the detrimental effects on their performance and health brought about by frequent weight cuts — have penned a plea to the Sports Ministry, asking for a postponement.

The ad hoc committee, perhaps, could have adopted a more judicious approach that would have accorded the wrestlers a fair opportunity to qualify for both international events. A single, comprehensive trial could have achieved this goal, sparing these athletes from the gruelling ordeal of repeated weight cuts, and thus bolstering their chances to shine on the global stage.