Faridabad (Haryana): Yogeshwar Dutt, the Indian wrestler who won bronze in the 2012 Rio Olympics, is optimistic that India will win two or more wrestling medals next months at the Paris Olympics.
India has secured six quotas for the Paris Olympics in different categories. Vinesh Phogat (women’s 50kg), Anshu Malik (women’s 57kg), Nisha Dahiya (women’s 68kg), Reetika Hooda (women’s 76kg), Antim Panghal (women’s 53kg) and Aman Sehrawat (men’s 57kg).
“We can win two or three medals in wrestling alone. Wrestling has brought medals for India from the last four Olympics events, so this time too Indian wrestlers will perform well in the Olympics,” said Yogeshwar Dutt to IANS on the back of ‘Glory of Five Rings’ event.
“Aman is the only men’s wrestler and I am very hopeful that he will bring the medal in the category. We have five women’s wrestlers too, out of which I expect three medals,” he added.
In their respective weight divisions, Antim Panghal and Aman Sehrawat are ranked fourth and sixth in the forthcoming 2024 Olympics Games in Paris, which begins on July 26.
There will be seedings at the Olympics for the first time ever, with the top eight wrestlers in each weight class receiving a spot. In the women’s 50kg freestyle division, Vinesh Phogat, a two-time Olympian and potential medal contender for his country, will start unseeded in Paris 2024.
Seedings were awarded based on the Wrestlers’ performances at the 2023 World Championships, 2024 Continental Championships, 2024 Zagreb Open Ranking Series, and the 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series.
A number of quota wrestlers objected to the selection committee’s decision earlier this year, thus the seven-member body decided against holding trials for the Olympics in Paris. In response to a question on WFI’s decision to forgo conducting trials, Dutt stated that a player who has met their quota does not require national trials.
“I believe there is no need for trials if a particular player has already secured a quota for the event. The rule is quite old and it should continue like that. Sushil Kumar qualified for three Olympic events through quota and I qualified for four Olympics events through quota, so there is no need for trials,” he said.
Antim’s seeding means that she won’t compete until the medal rounds against rival and two-time world champion Akari Fujinami of Japan, Qianyu Pang of the People’s Republic of China, who took home a silver medal in Tokyo 2020, and Emma Malmgren of Sweden, who claimed two European crowns.
But in the semifinals, she can face Lucia Yepez of Ecuador, the bronze medallist from the previous World Championships.
Prior to the start of the medal round, Aman, the 2023 Asian champion and the 2022 Under-23 global champion, may face either Japan’s Rei Higuchi or Armenia’s Arsen Harutyunyan.
Higuchi won the silver medal at Rio 2016 and is the world champion for 2022. Arsen Harutyunyan won bronze in the 2023 World Championships, and Aman was defeated by him in the Hungarian Ranking Series in June.
At Paris 2024, the last four Indian wrestlers will compete without a seed. The day before the women’s freestyle wrestling competition in Paris starts, they will be matched at random into brackets.
There will be wrestling competitions in 18 medal events at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, six in each of the three freestyle, Greco-Roman, and men’s categories. Each of these events will feature sixteen wrestlers competing.
“My advise to all the wrestlers that leave the pressure outside the mat and perform at your ability,” Dutt concluded.
