Page 7 - Wrestling

Bajrang Punia to return Padma Shri in protest over WFI poll outcome

On Thursday, Sanjay Singh was elected as the president of the WFI after the panel led by the close aide of Brij Bhushan won 13 of the 15 posts

It's Bajrang's personal decision to return Padma Shri: Sports Ministry

The Sports Ministry on Friday said Bajrang Punia's decision to return his Padma Shri award in protest against Sanjay Singh's election as Wrestling Federation of India president is a personal one but it will still try to convince him to rethink the move. Olympic medallist grappler Bajrang decided to return the honour a day after Sanjay, a Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist, was elected to the top post at WFI. On Thursday, Sanjay was elected as the president of the WFI after the panel led by the close aide of Brij Bhushan won 13 of the 15 posts. Sakshi Malik, Bajrang and Vinesh Phogat addressed a press conference after Sanjay's election in which Sakshi, a bronze medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, announced that she would quit the sport as a mark of protest. But ministry sources said the WFI elections were conducted in a free and transparent manner. "It is Bajrang Punia's personal decision to return Padma Shri. The WFI elections were held in fair and democratic manner," a ministry .

Dronacharya nominee Lalit aims for 3 wrestling medals at 2024 Olympics

Lalit Kumar, who has trained Olympic, World Championships and Asian Games medalists like Ravi Dahiya, Deepak Punia and Aman Sehrawat has been nominated for the prestigious Dronacharya Award for 2023

Much delayed Wrestling Federation elections to be held on December 21

The much-delayed Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections will be held on December 21 and the results will be announced the same day, said returning officer for the polls on Saturday. A statement issued by the office of the returning officer, Justice (retd) MM Kumar said polling, counting of votes and declaration of results will be done on the same day and the result of the elections shall be subject to the outcome of the writ petition pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The elections, to be held during the Special General Body Meeting, will be staged as per the electoral list made on August 7, quelling apprehensions that the entire process might start all over again. "All steps up to the stage of preparation and display of the final list of contesting candidates were completed (on Aug 7) and various activities like polling, counting of votes and declaration of result alone were left," said a statement issued by the returning officer for the polls. "The elections

SC sets aside stay imposed by Punjab and Haryana HC on WFI elections

The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on holding of elections to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal said it failed to understand how the entire process of the election could have been set at naught by high court. "Pending a writ petition filed by the Haryana Wrestling Association, by an interim order the high court has stayed the election of WFI. We fail to understand how the entire process of the election could have been set at naught by HC. The proper course would have been to allow the election to be conducted and make the election subject to the outcome of the pending writ petition. "Accordingly, the impugned order granting interim relief is set aside. It will be open for returning officer to proceed with the election by publishing a revised election program. We make it clear that the outcome of the election will be subject to orders that may be passed in the petition,"

No gold medal bouts at next year's Paris Olympics qualifiers for wrestling

The next year's Continental qualifiers offering spots for the Paris Olympics will not have gold or bronze medals bouts and the winners of the two semifinalists will make the cut for the 2024 Games, according to the new format approved by the world governing body UWW. Apart from four Continental Qualifiers, the World Qualifier will also not offer gold medal and the two semifinal winners will earn quotas while the winners of the bronze-medal bouts will compete for the third quota in each of the six weight categories in three styles. The Pan-American Qualifiers in Acapulco, Mexico from February 28 to March 1 will open the qualification opportunities. "All five Paris Olympic Qualifiers next year will have four seeds in each of the weight classes and no gold-medal bouts," UWW said on its website. African & Oceania Qualifiers will be held in Alexandria, Egypt from March 22-24 and the European Qualifiers in Baku, Azerbaijan are scheduled to take place from April 4-7. The Asian Qualifiers

We are 'following & supporting' UWW to resolve Indian wrestling issues: IOC

The International Olympic Committee is "closely" following the developments in Indian wrestling and "supporting" the United World Wrestling in resolving the issue, said the IOC director of communication Mark Adams on Sunday. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has been suspended by United World Wrestling (UWW) for not conducting elections in the given time frame. Indian wrestlers competed at the World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in September under the UWW flag because of the national federation's suspension. Adams, who is here for the IOC Session when asked if the International Olympic Committee had spoken to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or any other officials about the issues concerning wrestling, said, "We are keeping across this one very closely, but the Wrestling Federation (UWW), which is the key interlocutor in this case, and we are following and supporting them (UWW), so I think most of your question is best directed to the Wrestling Federation (UWW)." The IOA

Asian Games 2023: Deepak beaten by idol Yazdani, wrestlers bring six medals

Hasan Yazdani expectedly proved too good for Deepak Punia, who settled for a silver after losing by technical superiority to the Iranian legend in the men's 86kg category as India's wrestling campaign concluded at the Asian Games here on Saturday with six medals but without a gold. It was the second time that Deepak found himself up against his childhood idol Yazdani, the two-time Olympic medallist and eight-time World Championship medallist. In the 2019 World Championships in Nur Sultan, Deepak had reached the final on debut but did not wrestle against the Iranian due to a foot injury and conceded the bout, settling for a silver. The 24-year-old Deepak, known as 'Ketli Pehalwan', was perhaps overwhelmed as he could not find a single scoring move against Yazdani, who had more or less settled the final by taking a commanding 8-0 lead in the first period. Yazdani finished the bout early in the second period to defend his title. Meanwhile, Yash Tunir (74kg), Vicky (97kg) and Sumit Ma

Asian Games: Indian wrestler Punia bags silver in men's freestyle final

Punia, a Commonwealth Games champion, failed to add another gold to his tally but bagged the silver medal. Yazdani, meanwhile, defended his Asian Games title

Asian Games 2023: Maiden 100-medal haul for India; check winners' full list

India have won 94 medals so far and will be able to end the day with at least a haul of 95 as the men's hockey final is underway. Check full list of India medal winners in Asian games 2023 here

Asian Games 2023: Bajrang makes medal-less exit; Aman wins wrestling bronze

Bajrang Punia, who entered the Asian Games after escaping the selection trials, suffered embarrassing defeats to make a medal-less exit from Hangzhou even as three other Indian wrestlers, including the talented Aman Sehrawat, won bronze medals here on Friday. An under-prepared Bajrang, who spent a major part of this year protesting against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, began with two easy wins but appeared clueless against the formidable Iranian Rahman Amouzadkhalili and Japan's Kaiki Yamaguchi. Vishal Kaliraman had won the Asian Games trials but the IOA ad-hoc panel, led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa, had handed Bajrang a direct entry, a decision which invited criticism from the wrestling fraternity. Sending defending champion Bajrang, someone who was terribly short of competition time this year, in the tough men's 65kg competition proved to be a mistake by the Bajwa-led panel. Even Vinesh Phogat, a leading face of the wrestlers' protest, was spared from the trials but, as luck

Asian Games Highlights: India win Gold in Men's Hockey; Meal tally - 95

Asian Games 2023 highlights: India assured Silver in men's cricket by defeating Bangladesh by 9 wickets in the semifinal. Archers win Silver; India's medal tally: 95 - 22 Gold, 34 Silver & 39 Bronze

Antim wins bronze on tough day for Indian wrestlers at Asian Games 2023

Teen sensation Antim Panghal humbled Tokyo Olympics medallist Bolortuya Bat-Ochir 3-1 to win a bronze medal but other Indian wrestlers struggled badly at the Asian Games here on Thursday. The 19-year-old Antim bounced back after losing to two-time Japanese world champion Akari Fujinami in the quarterfinals in a superb manner as she did not let the Mongolian attack much in the women's 53kg bronze play-off. Antim saved the day for the Indian contingent which badly needed a medal after Narinder Cheema (Greco-Roman 97kg), Naveen (Greco Roman 130kg) and Pooja Gehlot (women's 50kg) were ousted. Pooja was outplayed 2-9 in the bronze medal bout by Aktenge Keunimjaeva, the Asian championship bronze winner. A lot was expected from Mansi Ahlawat (women's 57kg) too but she ended up losing her bronze play-off 'by fall' to Uzbekistan's Laylokhon Sobirova, who needed just 70 seconds to win the contest. Antim had come to Hangzhou after winning a bronze at the world championships and she carried h

Asian Games Highlights, Day 11: Neeraj wins Gold, Jena Silver; IND tally 81

Asian Games 2023 Highlights, Day 11: India grabbed a total of 10 medals which included three Gold and went past the 80 mark in the medals tally as it stood at 18 Gold, 31 Silver and 32 Bronze

Sunil Kumar wins India's first Greco Roman medal at Asian Games since 2010

Sunil Kumar won India's first Greco Roman medal in 13 years at the Asian Games, bagging a bronze in the 87kg category even as three of his compatriots exited the tournament here on Wednesday. Up against Kyrgyzstan's Atabek Azisbekov, the Indian wrestler fought a strategic bout in which twice he defended well from 'par terre position, denying his opponent a scoring opportunity from the ground position for a 2-1 win. He kept sliding in circles on his right, not letting Azisbekov get a grip to lift him. It was Azisbekov, who got on board first with a passivity point in the first period. Sunil levelled the score on Azisbekov's passivity as a major part of the bronze play-off was move-less. The Indian also successfully challenged the referee's two-point decision given in favour of Azisbekov, who had managed to push Sunil out but was not in control of the push-out move. Sunil was already ahead on criteria and got the decisive point towards the end. India had won two medals in Greco Rom

Antim Panghal shocks reigning world champion Parrish, but loses in semis

Antim Panghal shocked reigning champion Olivia Dominique Parrish en route to the World Championship semifinals, but the young grappler's giant-killing run was halted in the last-four stage, leaving her fighting for a bronze medal and a Paris Olympic quota place here on Wednesday. Panghal, the 53kg grappler, lost the semifinal bout to world No.23 Vanesa Kaladzinskaya -- a Belarusian competing as a neutral athlete -- on technical points 5-4. But the Indian can still earn an Olympic quota if she wins the bronze-medal match or emerges triumphant in the bout between the losers of the bronze-medal contest. Underlining her growth and a smooth transition from the junior to senior circuit, the two-time U20 champion won the first three bouts of the day to enter the semifinal even as other Indian contenders bit the dust in their respective categories. The two-time U20 champion Panghal slipped to a 0-2 deficit at the start of the bout against USA's Parrish but edged her rival 3-2 in the openin

Antim Panghal shocks reigning world champion Parrish, reaches quarters

Antim Panghal shocked reigning world champion Olivia Dominique Parrish to raise hopes of locking a quota for the Paris Olympics even as other Indian contenders bit the dust in their respective bouts at the wrestling World Championships, here Wednesday. Panghal slipped to a 0-2 deficit at the start of the bout against the American but edged her rival 3-2 in the women's 53kg opening round. She later outplayed Poland's Roksana Marta Zasina by technical superiority to move into the quarterfinals. The American swung into action with a quick take-down move from a right-leg attack. Unperturbed, the 19-year-old Indian began to defend well and foiled two similar attempts, not conceding any more points till the end of first period. With her strong defense continuing, Panghal did not let Parrish make any attacking move with the result the American was put on clock. Panghal got hold of the American's left leg and converted that into a successful take-down move to draw parity. She tried to get

World Wrestling: Neha loses bronze-medal match; Divya, Sarita exit early

Indian woman wrestler Neha Sharma went down fighting to Anastasia Blayvas of Germany in the bronze-medal contest at the UWW World Championships, even as four other grapplers failed to make an impact here on Tuesday. Neha, competing in the non-Olympic 55kg category, had made it to the bronze-medal round after defeating Mariia Vynnyk of Ukraine 7-4 in repechage to set up a fight against Anastasia. But after a keen contest, the 19th ranked Indian lost on technical points to the world No.16 German. Compatriots Sarita Mor and Divya Kakran failed to make an impact at the Worlds, losing their preliminary round bouts. The Indian contingent is competing here under the United World Wrestling (UWW) flag as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has been suspended by the international body for not holding its elections in the stipulated time. Both Sarita (57kg) and Divya (76kg) lost their pre-quarterfinal bouts, while team-mates Antim Kundu (65kg) and Neelam (50kg) also met with similar fate

World Championships: India's men's freestyle wrestlers return empty-handed

India's men's freestyle wrestlers cut a sorry figure at the World Championships as none of them could earn quota for next year's Paris Olympics or win a medal. What was more disappointing was that the Indian wresters lost to rivals from the nations that are not known for their wrestling prowess, raising suspicion over their fitness before flying to Belgrade. Sachin Mor (79kg) lost his repechage round by technical superiority to North Macedonia's Ahmad Magomedov, while Anuj Kumar (65kg) could not even clear the Qualification round, losing 7-8 to Mexico's Austin Klee Gomez. Mexico and North Macedonia are not the nations against whom the Indians are expected to lose their bouts. It has been learnt that Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had suggested the Sports Ministry to conduct medical examination of the selected wrestlers before sending them for participation, saying that many of them are possibly carrying injuries. "A few of the wrestlers selected are injured, especially 65kg .

Asiad 2023: India's wrestling contingent, full schedule, streaming in India

The Indian wrestling contingent will be led by the World Championships and 2018 Asian Games medalist Bajarnag Punia in the men's category and young sensation Antim Panghal in the women's category