The Asian Wrestling Championship 2021 will kick off on Tuesday and will feature an Indian contingent of 30 grapplers. The chamionship will take place at the Baluan Sholak Palace of Culture and Sports in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It is the perfect chance for the Indian team to get some much needed practice ahead of the Tokyo Games.
Kazakhstan also played host for the recently concluded Asian Olympic qualifiers. For India, youngsters Sonam Malik and Anshu Malik were among the quota winners. They joined Vinesh Phogat (women, 53kg), and freestyle wrestlers Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg) and Deepak Punia (86kg), who had already made the cut for Tokyo 2020.
Bajrang And Vinesh will be in the spotlight as they gear up to face their rivals and gauge their preparations ahead of the Games. Rio Olympics medallist Sakshi Malik will be in action in the 65kg weight division. It will be her first international tournament of the year. Meanwhile, Sonam Malik, who will represent India at the Olympics in the 62kg, pulled out due to the knee injury.
Also Read | Indian women’s wrestling team ready to travel to Kazakhstan for the upcoming Asian Olympic Qualifying Event
Indian wrestling team
Freestyle: Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg), Ravinder (61kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), Karan (70kg), Sandeep Singh Mann (74kg), Narsingh Yadav (79kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Sanjeet (92kg), Satyawart Kadian (97kg), Sumit Malik (125kg)
Greco-Roman: Sandeep (55kg), Gyaneder (60kg), Neeraj (63kg), Ashu (67kg), Kuldeep Malik (72kg), Gurpreet Singh (77kg), Harpreet (82kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Ravi (97kg), Naveen (130kg)
Women’s wrestling: Seema (50kg), Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Pinki (55kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Sarita Mor (59kg), Sonam Malik (62kg), Sakshi Malik (65kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg), Divya Kakran (72kg), Pooja Sihag (76kg)
Asian Wrestling Championships 2021 schedule
Tuesday, April 13
Greco-Roman Qualification and repechage rounds (55, 63, 77, 87, 130 kg) : 11:00 AM IST – 2:00 PM IST
Greco-Roman Finals (GR – 55, 63, 77, 87, 130 kg) : 5:30 PM IST – 8:30 PM IST
Wednesday, April 14
Greco-Roman Qualification and repechage rounds (60, 67, 72, 82, 97 kg) : 11:00 AM IST – 2:00 PM IST
Greco-Roman Finals (60, 67, 72, 82, 97 kg) : 5:30 PM IST – 8:30 PM IST
Thursday, April 15
Women’s Wrestling Qualification and repechage rounds (50, 55, 59, 68, 76 kg) : 11:00 AM IST – 2:00 PM IST
Women’s Wrestling Finals (50, 55, 59, 68, 76 kg) : 5:30 PM IST – 8:30 PM IST
Friday, April 16
Women’s Wrestling Qualification and repechage rounds (53, 57, 62, 65, 72 kg) : 11:00 AM IST – 2:00 PM IST
Women’s Wrestling Finals (53, 57, 62, 65, 72 kg) : 5:30 PM IST – 8:30 PM IST
Saturday, April 17
Freestyle Wrestling Qualification and repechage rounds (57 ,65, 70, 79, 97 kg) : 11:00 AM IST – 2:00 PM IST
Freestyle Wrestling Finals (57 ,65, 70, 79, 97 kg) : 5:30 PM IST – 8:30 PM IST
Sunday, April 18
Freestyle Wrestling Qualification and repechage rounds (61, 74, 86, 92, 125 kg) : 11:00 AM IST – 2:00 PM IST
Freestyle Wrestling Finals (61, 74, 86, 92, 125 kg) : 5:30 PM IST – 8:30 PM IST
Where to watch?
Live streaming of the Asian wrestling championships in India will be available on wrestlingtv.in. There will be no telecast of the event on any TV channel in India.
Also Read | Anshu Malik and Sonam Malik confirm Tokyo Olympics berth at the Asian Olympic Wrestling Qualifiers
