Indian grapplers to participate in Kazakh event

To prepare for the World Championships, Indian male wrestlers will participate in the fifth Cup of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan to be held at Astana from July 23 to 26.

The competition will be an opportunity to get bout practice for the Worlds that will held in Las Vegas from September 7 to 12.

Grapplers from 20 nations -- hosts Kazakhstan, India, Russia, Japan, Korea, the United States, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Brazil, China, Greece, Georgia, Italy, Sweden, Canada and the Maldives -- will participate in the tournament.

The 15-member Indian team has seven Free Style and eight Greco Roman wrestlers.

"The tournament will provide much needed exposure for Indian wrestlers prior to their participation in the World Championships. Our wrestlers have been working hard in the national camp since November 2014 but now it's time to play against top teams of the world for gaining international exposure," Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said.

The team will depart from here on Tuesday.

The squad:

Free Style: Amit Kumar (57 kg), Sonu (61 kg), Arun Kumar (70 kg), Narsingh Pancham Yadav (74 kg), Naresh Kumar (86 kg), Mausam Khatri (97 kg) and Krishan (125 kg)

Greco Roman Style: Nitin (59 kg), Deepak (66 kg), Mohammed Rafiq Holi (71 kg), Gurpreet Singh (75 kg), Harpreet Singh (80 kg), Manoj Kumar (85 kg), Hardeep (98 kg) and Naveen (130 kg)

Support staff:

Free Style: Vladimer Mestivirishili (foreign expert), Sujeet Maan, Anil Kumar (both coaches), Dinesh Gund (referee)

Greco Roman Style: Emzar Makhardze (foreign expert), S.N. Yadav, S.N. Singh (both coaches), Rahul Sharma (masseur)