The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has confirmed that there would be no trials to select the Indian entry in the 74kg freestyle category for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers next month in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The qualifiers are to be held from March 27-29 and the WFI had announced that the team selected for the Rome ranking tournament in January and the ongoing Asian Championships would be retained, subject to the athletes’ performances. Jitender had lost in the repechage round and finished 10th in Rome.
Asian C’ships: Jitender enters final, seals place for Olympic qualifiers
“We had decided that a medal in either or both tournaments would be considered a satisfactory performance and we will stick to that. Since Jitender has reached the final in the 74kg, there will be no trials and he will go for the qualifier,” WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh confirmed.
RELATED: Jitender wins national trials, has chance to end Sushil’s Olympics dream
The decision means twice-Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar won’t get a chance to stake his claim for a fourth Olympic appearance. If Jitender manages to book a Tokyo spot in Bishkek – he would need to reach the final – it might well be the end of the road for Sushil. However, in case he doesn’t, there would be a second chance during the World Olympic qualifiers in April (Sofia).
The WFI hasn’t yet decided on holding trials for the same.
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