The selection trials of the upcoming U23 World Championships will begin on Monday at the IG Stadium in New Delhi and the women wrestlers will compete on the first day for a place in India’s U23 team.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has issued a circular outlining eligibility criteria for the trials. The competition will then move to Lucknow on Tuesday, September 1, in which men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers will compete for their place in the team.
Women To Compete In Delhi, Men To Take The Mat In Lucknow
The first day of the trials will focus on eligible women wrestlers at the IG Stadium in the national capital. They will be competing for selection to the Indian team for the upcoming U23 World Championships.
The men's event will follow on Tuesday at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in Lucknow. Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers will be involved in the second day of the selection process.
According to the WFI circular, several groups of wrestlers are eligible to take part. Medal winners from the U23 national wrestling championships in Rohtak, Haryana from July 10 to 12 have been included in the eligibility list, with two exceptions.
Nikhil, who won gold in the 55kg Greco-Roman category, and Rohit Kumar, who won silver in the 65kg freestyle category, were last month disqualified after failing to pass dope tests. Both wrestlers were tested during the national championships and their urine samples were taken by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
Nikhil’s sample was collected on July 11, while Rohit’s sample was collected on July 12. The samples were found to contain banned substances.
The eligibility rules also extend beyond the medal winners from the national championships. National campers between the ages of 18 and 23 can participate in the trials and wrestlers who represented India at the U20 World Championships in Slovakia are also eligible.
And medal winners from the U20 Asian Championships in Thailand and the U23 Asian Championships in Vietnam can also participate. This means the selection trials have a wider pool of eligible wrestlers as the federation seeks to finalise the national U23 squad.
Weigh-In Rules And Documents
The WFI has also laid out specific requirements for wrestlers appearing in the trials. The weigh-in will take place at 7 am on the same day as the respective trials.
A weight tolerance of 1kg is allowed for the first five weight categories while a 2kg tolerance will be for the upper five weight categories in all three styles.
The federation said the allowance was suggested by the chief coaches and applies across the women’s and men’s categories covered by the trials.
Wrestlers will also need to bring their passports and photos when reporting for the selection process. Participants who don't have the required documents will not be allowed to enter, the circular said.
The trials will therefore be the most crucial stage of selection for wrestlers who want to be selected for India’s U23 team. The women’s competition starts in New Delhi on Monday and the men’s in Lucknow on Tuesday so the process will determine who can move on and represent India at the U23 World Championships.
