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The Indian wrestlers, who just won the Asian Games trials, have requested that the World Championship trials not take place until August 20. This is because losing weight is a difficult and painful procedure that puts athletes at risk for injury before the marquee event.
The wrestlers that participated in the Asian Games selection tournament will have around 17 days to prepare for another arduous competition as the World Championship trials are scheduled to take place on August 10. The aspirants were in a difficult situation due to the IOA ad-hoc panel's delay in releasing the date and requirements for the Asian Games trials, which had an impact on their performance.
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“Losing weight affects our performance and health and it will increase the chance of injury. We just lost weight for Asian Games trials and now it would not be possible for us to lose weight again and compete in the trials within 10-15 days (of Asian Games trials),” the letter to the association stated. The letter requesting the postponement has also been sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gian Singh, a member of the Ad-hoc Panel, has already stated that no wrestler will be allowed an exemption from the World Championship trials, therefore competitors like Sakshi Malik, Jitender Kinha, Sangeeta Phogat, and Satywart Kadian will be required to compete. Only Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat received direct admission for the Hangzhou edition, hence all four missed the Asian Games trials.
Experts’ opinion about the postponement request
A coach stated, “The body needs at least 10 days to recover from the impact of weight loss and competition. One week before and one week after the competition, a wrestler’s routine is different. Weight-loss management is an altogether different kind of training. When will you work on strengthening and other aspects like mat training if you stay focussed only on weight maintenance." Ideally, they should not do trials again, and that too within such a short period of time." He added further.
All qualified candidates may compete in the open trials for the non-Olympic weight divisions. There will be a two-kilogram weight relaxation for everyone. A definitive date and selection process for the World Championship trials has not yet been revealed by the panel. The World Championship is slated to be held in Belgrade, Serbia from September 16-24.
