World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers: When and where to watch

The 2021 World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers will be the last chance for the grapplers to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Scheduled to be held from May 6 to 9 in Sofia, Bulgaria, the event will see 36 wrestlers securing their tickets to Tokyo. The finalists in each category will make the cut.

Here are the details of World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers

Tournament: World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers

City: Sofia

Country: Bulgaria

Categories: Men’s freestyle, Women’s wrestling, Greco-Roman

World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers schedule

May 6

Qualification rounds Freestyle (57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg, 125kg) – 1.30PM – 5.30PM

Semifinal Freestyle (57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg, 125kg) – 9.30PM – 11.30PM

May 7

Qualification rounds Women’s Wrestling (50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 76kg) – 1.30PM – 4.30PM

Repechage Freestyle (57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg, 125kg) – 1.30PM – 4.30PM

Freestyle ranking (57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg, 125kg) – 7.15PM – 9.15PM

Semifinal Women’s Wrestling (50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 76kg) – 9.30PM – 11.30PM

May 8

Qualification rounds Greco-Roman (60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg, 130kg) – 1.30PM – 6PM

Repechage Women’s Wrestling – (50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 76kg) – 1.30PM – 6PM

Women’s Wrestling ranking (50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg, 76kg) – 7.15PM – 9.15PM

Semifinal Greco-Roman (60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg, 130kg) – 9.30PM – 11.30PM

May 9

Repechage Greco-Roman – (60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg, 130kg) – 6.30PM – 8.15PM

Greco-Roman ranking (60kg, 67kg, 77kg, 87kg, 97kg, 130kg) – 8.30PM – 10.30PM

(All timings in Indian Standard Time)

Where to watch World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers?

Like the Asian Olympic Qualifiers and Asian Championships, Wrestlingtv.in will be live-streaming all the matches of the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in India.

Sushil Kumar omitted from the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers squad

After repeated failures at the Asian Qualifiers and Asian Championships – both in Almaty – the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) made some bold decisions while selecting the squad for the four-day event. The most notable omission is the two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar in the 74kg category. Sushil had given the Asian Qualifiers a miss owing to a lack of preparation.

Another notable miss is national champion Sandeep Singh Mann, who is also in the 74kg weight class. Sandeep lost 0-11 in the Asian Qualifiers semifinals.

The WFI has instead opted for Amit Dhankar, who came second in the national selection trials in March. The other two weight categories where India will fight in the men’s freestyle event are Satyawart Kadian (97kg) and Sumit Malik (125kg).

Sachin Rana (60kg) and Deepanshu (97kg) have replaced Gyanendra and Ravi, respectively in the Greco-Roman squad.

With Anshu Malik, Sonam Malik and Vinesh Phogat sealing their places in the women’s category, Seema Bisla, Nisha Dahiya, Pooja Sihag will compete for India at this event.

Till now, India has six secured spots for the Tokyo Olympics – Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg) Bajrang Punia (65kg) and Deepak Punia (86kg) in men’s freestyle categories; Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg) and Sonam Malik (62kg) in the women’s segment.