The most recent version of the Asian Wrestling Championships in Astana was purported to characteristic Indian wrestling royalty in entrance of a teeming Indira Gandhi Stadium within the capital. Nevertheless, the protests by the elite wrestlers towards the then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh earlier this yr not solely led the Indian authorities to kind an oversight committee to run the game but in addition cajoled UWW — wrestling’s international governing physique — to take the continental championship to Kazakhstan.
With Tokyo medallists Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya and two-time Olympian Vinesh Phogat deciding to skip the competitors, the Indian contingent was immediately shorn of its largest stars. On the brighter aspect, the absence of famed regulars did current a great alternative for the subsequent era to claim itself. Antim Panghal and Aman Sehrawat did simply that.
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Younger weapons Anshu Malik (57kg) and Sonam Malik (62kg) continued to make an impression within the Olympic class, placing the likes of Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik — she could not even make the nationwide camp that preceded the competitors — and Worlds bronze medallist Sarita Mor beneath strain. Each kids fetched a bronze every in Astana whereas Sarita (59 kg) drew a clean.
Twenty-five-year-old Nisha Dahiya, bronze medallist on the 2021 U23 World Championships, took a silver, her largest worldwide medal to this point. Nisha’s silver can probably upset the order within the 68 kg class which has been hitherto dominated by two-time Asian champion Divya Kakran. Like Sakshi, Kakran appears to have fallen off the radar and wasn’t a part of the camp.
Within the freestyle division, Anuj Kumar, who changed the seasoned Bajrang Punia within the highly-competitive 65kg subject, failed to achieve the medal spherical. In Sujeet, Jaskaran, and Udit, India has three high quality challengers to the 29-year-old who hasn’t competed for the reason that Birmingham Commonwealth Video games (CWG). The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist is within the centre of wrestlers’ combat towards WFI and did not journey for an accepted coaching stint in Kyrgyzstan.
The 74kg class, vacant for the reason that fall of Sushil Kumar, nonetheless awaits a worthy successor though the likes of nationwide champion Yash Tushir and U20 Worlds bronze medallist Sagar Jaglan provide promise. On the Asian Championships, Yash’s repechage loss to Korea’s Byungmin Gong ended his possibilities of a medal, leaving Aman and Antim as essentially the most promising younger performers.
Billed as the way forward for Indian wrestling, the 2 youngsters gave account of their talent and acumen and completed on the rostrum. Antim, 18, was decimated 10-0 by Japanese phenom Akari Fujinami however Aman, 19, registered a commanding 9-4 win over Kyrgyzstan’s Almaz Smanbekov.
The success of Antim and Aman, contemplating their pedigreed junior careers, is hardly a shock. Whereas Antim is the one Indian woman to turn into the U20 world champion, a feat she achieved final August, Aman has blazed a lightning path in age-group occasions. The reigning U23 Asian champion can also be a silver medallist from final yr’s U-20 Asian Championships. A senior debut arrived final yr and the teenager from Haryana’s Birohar village responded with medals in all three occasions he competed in – gold on the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup Rating Sequence, silver on the Zouhaier Sghaier Rating Sequence, and bronze on the Yasar Dogu Rating Sequence.
The takeaway from Astana although is extra than simply the rostrum. The 2 youngsters have thrown their proverbial hats within the ring as probably replacements for the much-decorated duo of Vinesh (53kg) and Ravi (57kg), extra so with no quick readability on when the skilled duo will return to competitors. After skipping a few rating collection and Asian Championships trials this yr, Vinesh did not journey to the scheduled 11-day coaching journey to Olympic Preparation Centre in Spala, Poland. Likewise, Ravi hasn’t competed since his Commonwealth Video games (CWG) gold eight months again and remains to be recuperating from an damage to his proper knee. He’s but to renew mat coaching.
In the one bout Vinesh and Antim have fought, the teenager confirmed she isn’t any pushover. The 2 met on the CWG trials final Could the place Antim virtually shocked Vinesh — ten years her senior — earlier than the skilled wrestler overturned a 0-3 deficit within the dying seconds to e book her ticket to Birmingham. The bout ended with the scores tied at 3-3 however since Vinesh had gained the final level, she went by means of.
“I believe the subsequent time they meet, Antim will be capable of beat her. She has immense respect for Vinesh however every bout begins at 0-0. It is a jungle and an ageing lion has to make method for a extra energetic one,” mentioned Antim’s coach Vikas Bhardwaj who trains her at Hisar’s Baba Lal Das Kushti Academy.
“She could also be younger and nonetheless uncooked, however she is world-class. Even within the Asian Championships remaining the place she was up towards a powerhouse (Fujinami), Antim was assured to win gold. She later advised me she was not nicely and simply could not wrestle, however she’ll come again stronger,” Bhardwaj added.
Coach Randhir Malik, who’s a part of India’s teaching workforce on the Asian meet and who was additionally with the Indian contingent when Antim gained the U-20 world title, was extra measured in his evaluation. “I believe Antim nonetheless wants some work on her floor wrestling, however general, she is a really high-quality wrestler. So far as Vinesh is anxious, we’ll see after we get there.”
Aman and Ravi, each of whom practice at Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium, have crossed swords solely as soon as — on the CWG trials — the place Ravi blanked him 10-0. “Ravi is six years senior to Aman and there’s an apparent gulf in expertise, publicity, and power. However the type of strides Aman has taken in recent times is outstanding. India is fortunate to have two such wrestlers in a single weight class,” mentioned Parveen Dahiya, Aman’s coach at Chhatrasal.
With the 2 having to work laborious to take care of weight, Ravi and Aman will see one another so much even once they select to maneuver up a weight (61kg in non-Olympic, 65 kg within the Olympic class). “All I can say is, it’s unlucky that solely considered one of them can compete within the Paris Olympics, however we’ve discovered a star in Aman. He has a vibrant future,” Lalit mentioned.