Deepak Punia shifts focus to World Championship, Asian Games after clearing selection trials
Jul 23, 2023
New Delhi [India], July 23 : Commonwealth gold medallist Deepak Punia sealed the men’s 86kg berth on Sunday by clinching victory in the final of Asian Games selection trials.
He said he was now looking forward to performing well in the upcoming two major tournaments — World Championship and Asian Games.
India's wrestling contingent for the upcoming Asian Games, Hangzhou, was finalised after the men's category trials were concluded. Punia emerged victorious in the 86KG category and now he is targeting the two major tournaments.
"I have been selected for the Asian Games today and I have planned well for the event. There are two big tournaments this year — World Championship and Asian Games," Punia told ANI.
Bajrang Punia (men’s 65kg) and Vinesh Phogat (women’s 53kg) were exempted from the trials by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) ad-hoc committee, which is in charge of conducting the day-to-day affairs of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The duo received direct entries to the Hangzhou Games.
During the trials, Vishal Kaliraman defeated Rohit in the final of the 65kg category and he will be the standby for Bajrang in the division. Yash, Vicky and Sumit also booked their birth in the 74kg, 97kg and 125kg men’s freestyle slots, respectively.
The women’s section which was conducted on Saturday saw some big surprises with world championships medallists Sarita Mor and Anshu Malik failing to make the cut for the Asian Games.
Sarita Mor beat Anshu Malik 6-4 in the first round of the women’s 57kg category but lost in the semi-final to junior world championships bronze medallist Mansi Ahlawat, who went on to win the division.
Meanwhile, Antim Panghal, the 2022 U-20 world champion, dominated the 53kg division before pinning Manju in the final. However, the 19-year-old will have to be a standby for Vinesh Phogat.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Pooja Gehlot, meanwhile, sealed the 50kg slot by pinning Nirmala Devi in the final. Sonam Malik also won the 62kg trials by defeating Manisha. The women’s 68kg, meanwhile, saw another big upset as Radhika emerged as the surprising winner.
She knocked out favourite Nisha Dahiya and went on to win the final, defeating Priyanka. Kiran won the 76kg, getting the better of Divya Kakran in the deciding bout.
Former Asian championships bronze medal winner Gyanender was the top wrestler in the 60kg Greco-Roman division while usual suspects Neeraj, Naveen and Narinder Cheema also made the cut.
However, Sajan Bhanwal, who became the first-ever Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to win a medal at the U-23 world championships last year, failed to make the cut in the 77kg.
India's full wrestling squad for Asian Games 2023:
Greco-Roman: Gyanender - 60kg, Neeraj - 67kg, Vikash - 77kg, Sunil Kumar - 87kg, Narinder Cheema - 97kg, Naveen - 130kg
Women’s freestyle: Pooja Gehlot - 50kg, Vinesh Phogat - 53kg (Antim Panghal as standby), Mansi Ahlawat - 57kg, Sonam Malik - 62kg, Radhika - 68kg, Kiran - 76kg.
Men’s freestyle: Aman Sehrawat - 57kg, Bajrang Punia - 65kg (Vishal Kaliraman as standby), Yash - 74kg, Deepak Punia - 86kg, Vicky - 97kg, Sumit - 125kg.
