National Games 2022: Focus on second line of wrestlers in absence of Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya, Vinesh Phogat

Narsingh Yadav, Naveen Malik, Sonam Malik, Divya Kakran and reigning World under-20 champion Antim Panghal are among the prominent faces who will add some shine to the sporting extravaganza.

Wrestler Antim Panghal celebrates after creating history and becoming the first Indian girl to win a gold medal at the U-20 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. | Photo Credit: PTI

In the absence of the Big Three – Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya and two-time World Championships bronze medallist Vinesh Phogat – the focus will be on some promising talents when wrestling bouts of the 36 ^th National Games start at the Mahatma Mandir here on Friday.

A long season has taken its toll on several leading wrestlers, including Bajrang and Vinesh, who recently landed medals at the World Championships in Belgrade, forcing them to pull out of the mega event.

Former Worlds bronze medallist Narsingh Yadav, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Naveen Malik, Olympian Sonam Malik, two-time Commonwealth Games medallist Divya Kakran and reigning World under-20 champion Antim Panghal are among the prominent faces who will add some shine to the sporting extravaganza.

The occasion will provide a good opportunity to the second and third line of wrestlers to show their skills.