India’s Greco-Roman wrestling stars aim to write redemption story at 2022 Asian Games

After the Tokyo Olympic debacle, the Indian Greco-Roman wrestling team has set their sights on the 2022 Asian Games. The wrestlers have set personal targets for the marquee event scheduled to take place from September 10 to 25 next year in Hangzhou, China.

One of the national coaches, on condition of anonymity, had an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda. He said:

“Yes, it was a poor performance for us at the Olympic Qualifiers and we could not get a single quota. But that is all the past now. We have big events coming up next year so we are all focussed on that."

The current Greco-Roman batch is the best India has ever produced. It boasts many continental medalists, such as Arjun Halakurki (55 kg), Gurpreet (77kg) and Sunil Kumar (87 kg). Their performance at the 2020 Asian Championships – which was the best ever – bears testament to the claim.

The Indian team won five medals including one gold and four bronze medals. However, the forced break due to the pandemic played a spoilsport to their preparations.

“We all were in good form and were injury-free. The wrestling team had good foreign exposure and had competition practice. We were expecting at least two Olympic quotas. Yes, it is true that everyone had a similar situation but for a nation that has recently started making its presence felt in Greco-Roman, all these aspects play an important role,” the coach added.

However, the team has now taken it as a learning curve and began preparations for the new Olympic cycle.

How are some of the Greco-Roman wrestling stars preparing?

Gurpreet, who came closest to an Olympic qualification, is currently nursing a knee injury at his home in Chandigarh. He has also made notes of his shortcomings and stuck them on his wall. The 28-year-old says this reminds him of his weaknesses and helps him stay on track.

“I have started light training and also nursing an injury. I have a small time-table which has my weakness and strengths mentioned on the wall. It helps me know where I need to work and also keep me focussed,” he said.

He did not participate in the recently held world championships trials and therefore will have to participate at the nationals to return to the team.

“The worlds are important but my target is Asian Games. So, I am preparing for the wrestling nationals and after that I will start preparing for the Games,” he added.

Just like Gurpreet, Sachin Rana (60 kg) has also set sight on the national championships scheduled to take place in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh from November 19.

He participated in the worlds trials but lost in the early rounds. The youngster is currently training with the Railways team and plans to compete in one international event this year.

“I am currently training with the Railways wrestling team. It would have been a good exposure for me. Nonetheless, I plan to compete at the nationals and also at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in December. All this will help me with Asian Games preparations,” he said.

Sunil Kumar, who was the only gold medalist at the 2020 Wrestling Asian Championships, will be traveling to Oslo, Norway for the wrestling world championships next month.