The selection process of the Indian wrestling team for the 2023 Asian Games has become more complicated, with July 23 confirmed as the deadline for the final list of athletes to be submitted. ESPN can confirm that trials will be held on July 22 and 23, but it remains to be seen if there will be another round at a later date as requested by the six wrestlers who had protested against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh earlier.
The original deadline laid down by the Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC) was July 15, but the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) got a one-week extension; a second extension has been refused.
The IOA and the Wrestling Federation of India's ad-hoc committee are now staring at an uphill task. And a slew of questions remains to be answered...
Who's job is it anyway?
The IOA and the ad-hoc committee have arrived at no consensus so far and have only passed the baton among themselves. Kalyan Chaubey, CEO of the IOA, says he "cannot comment" and that only the "ad-hoc committee can comment on the issue", while his counterpart Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, member of the ad-hoc committee, remains unavailable for comment despite numerous attempts. "I have nothing to say on the matter," he had told this publication two weeks ago and has maintained his stance.
In the absence of a statement from the IOA and the ad-hoc committee, all the stakeholders including the wrestlers and coaches have been left in the dark. No one has any clarity on what the way forward is.
How will the trials be held by July 23?
"There's no more scope for delay, the trials will have to be wrapped up in 11 days from now," says an official working closely with the ad hoc committee. But how it's going to play out is anybody's guess. What the ad hoc committee and IOA have not been able to do so far, will now have to be done in quick time.
The six wrestlers - Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Sangeeta Phogat, Jitender Kinha and Satyawart Kadian - had requested the Sports Ministry for time to prepare for the trials and are currently training on their own. While Bajrang is in Kyrgyzstan for a 36-day training camp, Vinesh is expected to leave for Poland as well.
Now staring at a July 23 deadline, the questions arise: will Bajrang be asked to come back and Vinesh be forced to cancel her trip? Are any of the six wrestlers in any shape to compete in trials at such short notice? Can the wrestlers in the camp participate in trials with a 10-day notice?
What options does the IOA have?
The IOA has two options at the moment:
The first option is to call all the athletes to New Delhi [the venue for the trials] and finalize the team by July 23. This is going to be difficult considering Bajrang is not in the country.
The second option is to conduct the trials in two phases, one trial by July 23 and the second in early August (explained in detail below), and replace the names in the six weight categories alone if needed. This would work only if the HAGOC agrees to replace names later on.
For example: the IOA submits Antim Panghal's name in the women's 53kg category based on the first phase of trials. However, if Vinesh beats Antim in the second phase of the trials, then there should be a provision for the HAGOC to agree to replace Antim's name with Vinesh's in the final list.
What is the format of the trials?
With just 11 days to go, there isn't clarity on the format of the trials. ESPN was earlier told that the trials will be held in two phases [assuming the HAGOC agrees to this]. Gian Singh and Ashok Garg, the two coaches who have been added to the technical panel of the ad-hoc committee, have recommended that the trials be held in the following format:
The first phase will be held among the wrestlers who are currently in India and the top-3 [in the six specific weight categories] will be selected for the second phase of trials. Subsequently, once Bajrang, Vinesh and the others return, they will go up against the three shortlisted candidates and the winner of that will win a berth for the Asian Games.
However, this will work only if the HAGOC agrees to the second option mentioned above.