The newest version of the Asian Wrestling Championships in Astana used to be intended to characteristic Indian wrestling royalty in entrance of a teeming Indira Gandhi Stadium within the capital. However, the protests through the elite wrestlers towards the then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) leader Brijbhushan Sharan Singh previous this 12 months now not simplest led the Indian govt to shape an oversight committee to run the game but additionally cajoled the UWW — wrestling’s world governing frame — to take the continental championship to Kazakhstan.
With Tokyo medalists Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya and two-time Olympian Vinesh Phogat deciding to skip the contest, the Indian contingent used to be abruptly shorn of its largest stars. On the brighter facet, the absence of famed regulars did provide a perfect alternative for the following era to say itself. Antim Panghal and Aman Sehrawat did simply that.
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Young weapons Anshu Malik (57kg) and Sonam Malik (62kg) persevered to make an impact within the Olympic elegance, striking the likes of Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik — she could not even make the nationwide camp that preceded the contest — and Worlds bronze medalist Sarita Mor underneath drive. Both children fetched a bronze every in Astana whilst Sarita (59 kg) drew a clean.
Twenty-five-year-old Nisha Dahiya, bronze medalist on the 2021 U23 World Championships, took a silver, her largest world medal so far. Nisha’s silver can probably disenchanted the order within the 68 kg elegance which has hitherto been ruled through two-time Asian champion Divya Kakran. Like Sakshi, Kakran turns out to have fallen off the radar and wasn’t a part of the camp.
In the freestyle department, Anuj Kumar, who changed the seasoned Bajrang Punia within the highly-competitive 65kg box, failed to succeed in the medal spherical. In Sujeet, Jaskaran, and Udit, India has 3 high quality challengers to the 29-year-old who hasn’t competed because the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (CWG). The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist is within the middle of wrestlers’ battle towards WFI and did not go back and forth for an authorized coaching stint in Kyrgyzstan.
The 74kg elegance, vacant because the fall of Sushil Kumar, nonetheless awaits a worthy successor even though the likes of nationwide champion Yash Tushir and U20 Worlds bronze medalist Sagar Jaglan be offering promise. At 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 a just right account in their talent and acumen and completed at the podium. Antim, 18, used to be decimated 10-0 through Japanese phenom Akari Fujinami however Aman, 19, registered a commanding 9-4 win over Kyrgyzstan’s Almaz Smanbekov.
The good fortune of Antim and Aman, bearing in mind their pedigreed junior careers, is infrequently a wonder. While Antim is the one Indian woman to develop into the U20 international champion, a feat she completed closing August, Aman has blazed a lightning path in age-group occasions. The reigning U23 Asian champion could also be a silver medalist from closing 12 months’s U-20 Asian Championships. A senior debut arrived closing 12 months and the teenager from Haryana’s Birohar village spoke back with medals in all 3 occasions he competed in – gold on the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup Ranking Series, silver on the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series, and bronze on the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series.
The takeaway from Astana although is extra than simply the rostrum. The two youngsters have thrown their proverbial hats into the hoop as most likely replacements for the much-decorated duo of Vinesh (53kg) and Ravi (57kg), extra so with out a rapid readability on when the skilled duo will go back to pageant. After skipping a few rating sequence and Asian Championships trials this 12 months, Vinesh did not go back and forth to the scheduled 11-day coaching shuttle to Olympic Preparation Center in Spala, Poland. Similarly, Ravi hasn’t competed since his Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold 8 months again and continues to be convalescing from an harm to his proper knee. He is but to renew mat coaching.
In the one bout Vinesh and Antim have fought, the teenager confirmed she isn’t any pushover. The two met on the CWG trials closing May the place Antim virtually surprised Vinesh — ten years her senior — sooner than the skilled wrestler overturned a 0-3 deficit within the demise seconds to e-book her price tag to Birmingham. The bout ended with the rankings tied at 3-3 however since Vinesh had received the closing level, she went via.
“I believe the following time they meet, Antim will be capable to beat her. She has immense recognize for Vinesh however every bout begins at 0-0. This is a jungle and an getting older lion has to make approach for a extra vigorous one, stated Antim’s trainer Vikas Bhardwaj who trains her at Hisar’s Baba Lal Das Kushti Academy.
“She may be young and still raw, but she is world-class. Even in the Asian Championships final where she was up against a powerhouse (Fujinami), Antim was confident to win gold. She later told me she was not well and just couldn’t wrestle, but she’ll come back stronger,” Bhardwaj added.
Coach Randhir Malik, who is a part of India’s training workforce on the Asian meet and who used to be additionally with the Indian contingent when Antim received the U-20 international identify, used to be extra measured in his evaluate. “I think Antim still needs some work on her ground wrestling, but overall, she is a very fine wrestler. As far as Vinesh is concerned, we’ll see when we get there.”
Aman and Ravi, either one of whom teach at Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium, have crossed swords simplest 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 evident gulf in revel in, publicity, and energy. But the type of strides Aman has taken lately is exceptional. India is fortunate to have two such wrestlers in one weight elegance, stated Parveen Dahiya, Aman’s trainer at Chhatrasal.
With the 2 having to paintings arduous to deal with weight, Ravi and Aman will see every different so much even if they make a selection to transport up a weight (61kg in non-Olympic, 65 kg within the Olympic class). “All I can say is, it is unfortunate that only one of them can compete in the Paris Olympics, but we have found a star in Aman. He has a bright future,” Lalit stated.