The trials for next month’s World Wrestling Championships will be held on August 25 and 26 at the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala, the ad-hoc committee running.
the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) announced on Monday. The trials will be held across 30 weight classes, 10 each in freestyle, Greco-Roman and women.
The weigh-ins for all divisions will be held on the morning of the respective bouts and a 2kg relaxation will be permitted. Like the Asian Games trials held in July, women’s and Greco-Roman bouts will be held on the first day while freestyle trials will take place on the second day.
Top wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat had received exemption from the Asian Games trials, but there won’t be any this time.
“The trials will be open to all wrestlers who meet the criterion. There is no exemption to anyone. We have sent the notification to all state units and will start receiving the entries soon,” ad-hoc panel chief Bhupender Singh Bajwa said.
“The wrestler who will get first place in their respective category in the trials will be selected for the World Championships and the second placed wrestler will be kept as reserve,” the ad-hoc panel’s announcement read.
All wrestlers who participated in the Asian Games trials, participants of the Tokyo Olympics and participants and medallists from all internationals, ranking series, Asian Championships, World Championships and Commonwealth Games — events held in 2022 and 2023 — will be eligible to compete.
Punia and Phogat were handed direct berths for the Hangzhou Games, which led to protests by their young rivals. The duo is yet to inform the ad-hoc panel about their participation.
“So far, we have not heard from them. It is tough to speculate whether they will appear for trials or not,” Bajwa said. Entries must be mailed to the ad-hoc committee by August 22.
The World Championships in Belgrade from September 16-24 will be the first qualifying event for Paris Olympics.