Indian wrestling stars opt out of ranking series tournament in Egypt

Several top Indian wrestlers have opted out of the upcoming 2nd Ranking Series Ibrahim-Moustafa tournament. This is the second time in the past month that renowned wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia have decided to skip an important tournament. Along with Vinesh and Bajrang, Ravi Dahiya, Deepak Punia, Anshu Malik, Sangeeta Phogat and Sangita Mor have also opted out of the tournament that is set to be held in Alexandria, Egypt from February 23 to 26.

The wrestlers had earlier pulled out of the Zagreb Open citing unpreparedness for the competition. The oversight committee of the Wrestling Federation of India has cleared a total of 27 Indian wrestlers for the upcoming tournament. The event is crucial for gaining ranking points, which will provide better seeding at the Senior Asian Championships 2023 and the Senior World Championships 2023.

The Indian team consists of nine freestyle, eight women, and 10 Greco-Roman wrestlers, along with 16 coaches and support staff. The 27 wrestlers include three Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) grapplers - Ashu (67kg GR), Bhateri (65kg women), and Sujeet (65kg FS). Mary Kom, who heads the oversight committee, said in a statement, "We want to ensure that the sport and the athletes do not suffer and more and more wrestlers get international exposure, so they can have the opportunity to compete against the best in the world."

Meanwhile, nine current and former world championship gold medalists have already registered for the second ranking series. It is noteworthy that in January, during their three-day protest at Jantar Mantar, the wrestlers had announced that they would not compete in any national or international tournament until the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) was disbanded, and its chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was sacked.

The Indian team for the Ranking Series Tournament is as follows: Greco-Roman - Manjeet (55kg), Vikram Kurade (60kg), Karanjeet (67kg), Nitin (63kg), Ashu (67kg), Ankit Gulia (72kg), Sajan (77kg), Rohit Dahiya (82kg), Narinder Cheema (97kg), and Naveen (130kg). Women - Sushma Shokeen (55kg), Sito (57kg), Simran (59kg), Sumitra (62kg), Bhateri (65kg), Radhika (68kg), Reetika (72kg), and Kiran (76kg). Freestyle - Udit (57kg), Pankaj (61kg), Sujeet (65kg), Sagar Jaglan (74kg), Pardeep (79kg), Jonty Kumar (86kg), Prithviraj Patil (92kg), Sahil (97kg), and Dinesh (125kg).