If there’s anything to be learned following the conclusion of the two-day-long selection trials to pick the Indian wrestling team for the Asian Games on Sunday, it’s that past results don’t necessarily correlate to current performance.
With a remarkable number of upsets, the most stunning of which was the shock exit of Olympic silver medallist Ravi Dahiya, who was pinned by the relatively unheralded Atish Todkar in the first round of trials in the 57kg men’s freestyle category on Sunday, the trials were also the best possible argument against the automatic selection of two senior wrestlers that has caused so much angst in the wrestling community.
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The trials at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi stadium had been held under a cloud of controversy after two senior wrestlers, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, both multiple-time world medalists, contentiously received automatic qualification for the Continental Games.
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The two had been at the forefront of several weeks-long protests against the former Wrestling Federation of India president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, which eventually led to the suspension of the Federation and its replacement by an ad hoc body that had granted the duo automatic selection to the Asian Games squad.
Wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sangeeta Phogat with supporters during their protest march to demands arrest of Wrestling Federation of India Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, at Rajghat in Delhi on Thursday evening. May 18, 2023.
Two of their young rivals—Antim Panghal in the women’s 53kg category and Sujeet Kalkal in the men’s freestyle 65kg weight division—had unsuccessfully approached the courts, challenging the ad hoc body’s decision. Antim said that their argument was not that only she or Sujeet could win the trials but that anyone competing in the two weight divisions could.
And while the courts refused to step into the matter, the results of the trials showed just how much merit there was in Antim’s claim that anyone could beat anyone if they simply got the chance to compete.
The first day of the selection trials saw players like Tokyo Olympian Seema Bisla, Asian silver medallist Nisha Dahiya, World silver medallist Anshu Malik, and World bronze medallist Sarita Mor eliminated from the competition and lose out on a spot on the team roster for the Asian Games.
Those were impressive upsets on their own. But that wasn’t nearly as seismic an upset as Ravi’s, when he suffered the ignominy of being pinned by the young Atish Todkar, whose biggest claim to fame is a bronze from the 2022 National Championships.
Todkar consistently ducked under Ravi’s attempts to hand fight before going behind for takedown moves. Ravi had a small 6-4 lead going into the second period, but from there it was one-way traffic.
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Two consecutive takedowns and a four-pointer from the edge of the mat that Todkar pulled off rattled Ravi. Using all his might, Ravi went all out for a pin, but Todkar wriggled out and got himself into a position where he had his opponent’s shoulders on the mat.
Ravi, it must be said, has been battling an ACL injury to his knee. “Ravi had suffered both ACL and MCL tears in his right knee on February 6. We started training in early April, and he began practising full throttle only about 10 days ago. He needed competition, and a lack of it hurt him,” Dr. Munesh Kumar, who looked after Ravi’s rehabilitation, said.
However, despite pulling off the biggest win of his career, Todkar wouldn’t win the Asian Games ticket. After winning his next bout, he would lose to Rahul by technical superiority in the semifinal. Rahul, in turn, would be beaten by Asian Championship and U-23 World gold medallist Aman Sehrawat, who would win the spot in the Indian team for the Asian Games.
There was no guarantee of success, even for the wrestlers who had gone to court for a fair selection trial. Sujeet, who had argued for Bajrang to compete in a trial, wouldn’t win either. He lost out in the semifinal of the men’s 65kg freestyle division.
Despite taking a knee to his face in the first of the five bouts he fought on Sunday—a blow that resulted in his right eye being sealed owing to massive swelling—it was 25-year-old Vishal Kaliraman who emerged victorious in the 17-man field.
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Vishal, who beat Rohit Gulia 7-3 in the finals, will have to stay satisfied with only being named a standby to three-time World medallist and Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang.
It’s a result that he admits he hasn’t come to terms with, especially since Bajrang hasn’t wrestled at all this year. “As far as these trials are concerned, I was always against the exemptions. Why is someone who hasn’t competed for so long getting a free pass while I have to play 4-5 testing bouts in a day to earn my place as a standby?”
Vishal says he will take his fight to the Supreme Court if he has to. His father, Subhash, and mother, Rajbala, have been camped in Delhi over the past week and protested in front of the Indian Olympic Association building. “We are sleeping on the streets right now. But we will continue to fight as long as it takes,” Subhash told Sportstar.
While that fight will continue and he’s clearly disgruntled, Vishal says he will now focus on competing in the selection trials for the World Championships. Those trials are to be held in the middle of August, and Bajrang is expected to compete there. “It will be tough because we will head into another gruelling weight management cycle. I hear everyone will have to turn up for those trials, so I am really looking forward to it,” he said.
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