WFI calls off Sonepat camp, Olympics-bound wrestlers to leave for Poland by May end
The Tokyo Olympics-bound Indian wrestlers will now directly leave for Poland at the end of the month to participate in the Poland Open and will train in Europe throughout June.
Published : May 15, 2021 23:42 IST
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has called off the national camp for the Tokyo Olympics-bound wrestlers that was to begin in Bahalgarh, Sonepat on Tuesday.
“We had planned a camp in Bahalgarh but since they would not be allowed to train for 14 days due to hard quarantine, we thought it is better they for the time being they train at their respective ' akhadas ' and then travel to Poland,” WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar told PTI .
“We are also allowing all the wrestlers to travel with one partner of their choice for practice. A few, like Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia, will be accompanied by their personal coaches too,” he added.
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The wrestlers will now directly leave for Warsaw at the end of the month. The Poland Open, to be held in the capital city of Warsaw from June 8-13, is the last ''Ranking Series'' event ahead of the Olympics. These events allow the wrestlers to pick up ranking points, which would then enable them to secure a better seeding at the Olympics.
The team would continue to train in Poland before heading to Hungary for another brief camp. Following this, the Indian contingent will travel to Turkey to compete in the Yasar Dogu international tournament, which will be held in Istanbul between June 25-27.
The team will return to India in the first week of July and then fly to Japan for the Olympics.
India will be sending an eight member team -- four men and as many women have made the cut -- to the Tokyo Olympics. The eight wrestlers are - Seema Bisla (50kg), Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg) Sonam Malik (62kg), Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg) Deepak Punia (86kg) and Sumit (125kg).