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The much-anticipated Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers 2024 is all set to take place from April 19 to the 21, 2024 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. India will be send 17 wrestlers who are eyeing to secure a quota for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Notably, the upcoming tournament will be the penultimate opportunity for the wrestlers to qualify for the Paris Olympics. The last wrestling qualification tournament for Paris 2024 would be the World Qualification Tournament in Turkey, scheduled in May.
As many as 36 Paris Olympics quotas would be up for grabs in 18 weight divisions across Greco-Roman, men’s freestyle, and women’s freestyle categories in Bishkek.
Speaking of the format, the tournament will follow a bracket system, wherein the semi-finalists from each weight division will secure quotas for the global event. No gold medal doubt will take place at the event.
India will have representations in 17 out of 18 weight division categories, with the only exception being the women’s 53kg.
Antim Panghal has already clinched the Paris Olympic 2024 quota in the women’s 53kg after having secured a bronze medal at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships.
There will be high expectations from the likes of Vinesh Phogat and Deepak Punia, who would be leading the Indian contingent at the event. Vinesh will be competing in the 50kg weight division as Antim has already secured a quota in the 53kg category.
Deepak Punia, on the other hand, will be competing in the men’s 86kg, while Deepak Punia will be representing in the 86kg division. Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Bajrang Punia lost his bout in the selection trials and thus, couldn’t make the cut for the Asian qualification event.
Here’s a look at the complete list of Indian players competing at the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers 2024:
Men’s Greco-Roman: Sumit (60kg), Ashu (67kg), Vikas (77kg), Sunil (87kg), Nitesh (97kg), Naveen (130kg)
Women’s freestyle: Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Mansi (62kg), Nisha (68kg), Reetika Hooda (76kg)
Men’s freestyle: Aman Sehrawat (57kg), Sujeet (65kg), Jaideep (74kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Deepak (97kg), Sumit (125kg)
