Olympians Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia were expempted from the wrestling selection trials for the Asian Games 2023, which will take place in Hangzhou in Septemer-October this year.
Phogat and Punia were two of the most prominent faces of the wrestlers' protest earlier this year. Indian wrestlers had accused the Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexually harrassing at least seven women, including a minor. Brij Bhushan has been removed as the WFI president and was charged of sexual abuse and stalking by the Delhi Police last month.
Since the wrestlers had taken to streets in April, in a protest against Brij Bhushan that lasted over a month, they lost crucial training time ahead of the Asian Games.
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On Tuesday, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) ad-hoc announced that they already selected a wrestler in men’s freestyle 65kg and women’s 53kg but trials would be held in all six weight categories in each of the three styles.
One of the panel members Ashok Garg confirmed to Indian news agency Press Trust of India that the wrestlers in question were Punia and Phogat.
When are the Asian Games wrestling selection trials scheduled to take place?
The Asian Games wrestling selection trials set to take place at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on July 22-23.
The six key wrestlers who were a part of the protest -- Punia, Phogat, Sakshi Malik, her husband Satyawart Kadiyan, Jitender Kinha and Bajrang’s wife Sangeeta Phogat -- had asked for time till August to prepare for the trials. The Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC) extended the deadline for submitting final squads from July 15 to July 23.
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To prepare for the season ahead, Phogat is training in Budapest, Hungary while Punia is training in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan. Phogat's much anticipated comeback at the Budapest Ranking series, last week, was stalled as she had to withdraw due to illness.
Why were Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat exempted from the trials?
The WFI guidelines state at selection trials in all weight categories. However, the selection committee can select 'iconic players', those who have won World Championship or Olympic medals, without trials if they have been recommended by the chief coach or foreign expert.
Though Punia and Phogat have been consistent performers on the world stage, they were given exemption from the selection trial without the knowledge of men’s freestyle national coach Jagmander Singh and women’s national coach Virender Dahiya.
"We don’t know in what shape Bajrang and Vinesh are in," Dahiya told PTI.
"They have not competed in the last eight months. You get to know about speed, strength, weight, only during the competitions. And they have not competed after CWG and World Championship last year, so we do not know how good they are at this moment.
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“And in both 53kg and 65kg categories, there are solid youngsters who can compete well. Their strength is good. The ad-hoc panel has overruled us in making this decision."
However, the ad-hoc panel did exempt the other protesting wrestlers -- including 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik who is the first and only Indian woman to win a wrestling medal -- from the selection trials.
How have Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat performed at the Asian Games previously?
Vinesh Phogat has won two Asian Games medals. While she won a silver in 48kg freestyle category at the 2014 Incheon Games, she went a step further, clinching gold in 50kg category at the 2018 Gold Coast Games.
Phogat has also won two bronze medals (2019 Nur-Sultan and 2022 Belgrade) at the World Championships.
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Bajrang Punia is also one of India's most decorated wrestlers. He won a silver in 61kg at 2014 Incheon Asian Games and a gold in 65kg at the 2018 Asian Games held at Gold Coast.
With four medals to his name, Punia is India's most successful wrestler at the World Championships. He has won three bronze medals (2013 Budapest, 2019 Nur-Sultan, 2022 Belgrade) and a silver (2018 Budapest) at the event.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he won a bronze in 65kg.
How have competitors reacted to Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat's exemption from Asian Games selection trials?
The ad-hoc planel's decision to give Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat's exemtpion from Asian Games selection trials has added to the tumult in the wrestling community.
Antim Panghal, who competes in the same weight category as Phogat, has asked for a fair selection trial and is set to move court over the ad-hoc panel's decision.
#WATCH | Wrestler Antim Panghal says, "Vinesh (Phogat) is being sent directly, she doesn't have any achievements in the last one year but despite that, she is being sent directly. Even in the Commonwealth Games trial, I had a 3-3 bout with her. Then too, I was cheated...A fair… https://t.co/X6b5LzOuyd pic.twitter.com/gdVKPdd0Bq
— ANI (@ANI) July 19, 2023
In a video released on Tuesday, Panghal asked if she should 'leave wrestling.'
"Last year, in the Junior World Championships, I had won a gold medal and became the first woman wrestler from India to achieve this feat," the 19-year-old said.
"In the 2023 Asian Championships I won a silver medal, but Vinesh has no achievement to show in the last one year. She was also injured
"Sakshi Malik has also won an Olympic medal, she too is not being sent. What is so special about Vinesh that she is being sent. Just organise trials. I am not saying that I am the only one who can beat Vinesh. There are several other girls who can beat her.
"They are also saying that the one who goes for the Asian Games will also go for the World Championships. And, the one who wins a medal at Worlds will go to the Olympics (in Paris). We have also been training hard for years. So, what about us?
"Should we leave wrestling. Tell us on what basis is she (Vinesh) being sent."
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