Originally a traditional martial art form of Uzbekistan, Kurash will make its debut at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. Earlier incorporated into the 2007 Asian Indoor Games, the discipline is quite similar to the wrestling and includes two players with the green and blue jacket.
Venue and Schedule for 2018 Asian Games
The Kurash competition will be held from August 28 to August 30 at the JCC Assembly Hall, Gelora Bung Karno(GBK Area).
Asian Games Kurash 2018 Events
The 2018 Asian Games will witness seven events of Kurash, four for men competitors and three for the women’s categories. While the men’s categories include -66kg, -81kg, -90kg and +90kg, women will feature in three weight categories- namely -52kg, -63kg and -78kg.
Asian Games Kurash Teams
In every event, each participating nation is allowed to play a maximum of two athletes.
Favourites for Asian Games 2018 Kurash
With the traditional sports taking its biggest step so far, the Kursah players will be aiming to leave their mark at the 2018 Asian Games.
The 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Games gold medalist Marat Orazov will be the favourite in his -66kg category. Iran's Behzad Vojdani will also be in contention to win the yellow metal after winning a bronze in the -66kg category at the 2017 World Kurash Senior Championships.
Uzbekistan's Kamoliddin Rasulov will be aiming to replicate his gold-winning performance at the 2017 Asian Indoor Games. Another Uzbek Shukhrat Jon Arslanov who bagged the gold medal in the 5th Asian Indoor Games along with the World Kurash Senior Championship silver medalist Hamed Rashidi of Iran will fight for the gold in their -90 kg category.
Since -100kg and +100kg categories will not be part of the 2018 Asian games, Uzbek Ilkhom Juraev along with Jafar Pahlevani will be favourite to win the gold medal in the men's +90kg category.
The 2017 Asian Indoor Games champions Gulnara Suleymanova and Chinese Tapei's Yu-Erh Cheng will go into the tournament as the favourites to win the gold medal in the -52kg and -63kg category respectively.
Another Uzbek Kumush Yuldasheva will be aiming to leave her indelible mark in the history of the game by winning the gold in the women's -78kg category.
Indian Team for the Asian Games Kurash 2018
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced a 12-member contingent to contest in the folk wrestling style at the 2018 Asian Games. The team consists of six men and six women wrestlers.
India has been impressive in the recent years at the Asian Level. Especially after winning one gold, two silver and 13 bronze in the 2018 Senior Asian Championships, India is expected to bag a few medals in the 2018 Asian Games.
Among the men participants, Manish Tokas and Parikshit Kumar are likely to finish on the podium in the -81kg and 90+kg category respectively. In the -52kg women’s category, India's hopes are pinned on Pinky Balhara to bag a medal in Jakarta-Palembang.
