Ravi Dahiya, Deepak Punia to travel to Russia for Tokyo preparation
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) secured Ravi and Deepak's visas this week and the grapplers will reach Vladikavkaz to join Bajrang on Tuesday.
Published : Jun 28, 2021 21:46 IST
Indian wrestlers Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia have finally got the clearance to travel to Russia and will train alongside Bajrang Punia until the Tokyo Olympics.
Ravi and Deepak have been in Warsaw since the beginning of the month and were part of the Indian contingent for the Poland Open Ranking Series. Ravi (57kg) bagged the silver medal in the 61kg category, while Deepak (86kg) pulled out of the competition after injuring his elbow. The duo was eager to leave for Vladikavkaz in the second week of June but was unable to meet the travel requirements.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) secured their visas this week and the two grapplers will reach Vladikavkaz on Tuesday. "Ravi and Deepak will reach Russia on Tuesday and will train there until the Tokyo Olympics," Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of the WFI, told Sportstar .
Bajrang (65kg) has been training in Vladikavkaz with coach Shako Bentinidis and recently injured his knee while participating in the Ali Aliev Memorial tournament.
- Anshu to stay in Warsaw -
Anshu Malik (57kg) was to travel with Vinesh Phogat (53kg) to train in Hungary and Estonia, but that plan has been called off. Anshu, 19, was forced to withdraw from the Poland Ranking Series after she suffered a bout of fever. She has recovered since and will continue to train in Warsaw.
ALSO READ:
Five out of the seven Indian wrestlers who have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics are training abroad, while Seema Bisla (50kg) and Sonam Malik (62kg) skipped the foreign camps due to injury. Sumit Malik (125kg), who was the eighth Indian wrestler to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, has been provisionally suspended after failing a dope test. The result of his B sample will be out around the first week of July.