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Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, who won medals at the World Championships and protested against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, have been granted an exemption from the Asian Games selection trials. Other protesting wrestlers, like as Sakshi Malik and reigning Olympic silver medalist Ravi Dahiya, have not received the same kindness.
The Asian Games selection trials will take place in New Delhi on July 22 and 23, with women's and Greco-Roman bouts taking place on the first day and men's freestyle on the second.
Six weight categories, including the classes of Bajrang (65 kg) and Vinesh (53 kg), will have trials in all three formats. Winners in those two categories, however, will be listed as reserves. There was no new information regarding the World Championship selection trials, which will take place prior to the Asian Games.
It was unclear if the ad hoc tribunal consulted the respective chief coaches before granting Bajrang and Vinesh an exemption. According to sources close to Bajwa, Olympic silver medalist Ravi Dahiya (57 kg) did not receive an exemption because of an injury he sustained in a recent Ranking Series match.
The decision to exclude Bajrang and Vinesh from competition did not sit well with many aspiring wrestlers, and at least three of them, including World under-20 champion and Asian silver medalist Antim Panghal (53 kg) and bronze medalists from the National championships and Ranking Series Sujeet Kalkal and Jaskaran Singh (both men's freestyle 65 kg), are thinking about changing the court.
