रेसलर्स Vs बृजभूषण शरण सिंह: IOA के अनुरोध को ठुकरा सकता है OCA; भारतीय कुश्ती टीम के नाम भेजने का समय बढ़ाने की है मांग

Country’s top wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat are back on the mat.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is likely to turn down the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) request for further extension of the July 15 deadline to send the names of the Indian wrestling team for the Asian Games. This could be a big blow to the wrestlers protesting against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. If this happens, they will have to give trials without preparation, because they did not get time to practice due to long performances.

The Asian Games are to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8 and the IOA has to give the names of the players by July 15. All the protesting wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, wanted to prepare for the trials, which is why they requested the Sports Ministry to hold the trials in August.

Difficult to accept IOA’s request for OCA
The IOA on Friday spoke to the OCA on behalf of the wrestlers. According to media reports, it would be difficult for the OCA to accede to the IOA’s request. Since the National Olympic Committee has made the request, the OCA will look into the matter. However, the OCA does not want to get into the local politics of any country.

According to media reports, OCA is to see 45 countries in 40 sports disciplines in the Asian Games. In such a situation, it will be difficult for him to accept the IOA’s request to extend the deadline for wrestling. 4-5 days can be considered, but it is difficult to extend the deadline for 40-45 days.

Tidharth committee engaged in preparation for the election of the federation
The pilgrimage committee of the Indian Olympic Association, which is preparing for the election of the Wrestling Federation of India, on Monday called 5 disputed state units for a hearing on June 21. Along with this, the date of submission of nomination for preparation of voter list has also been extended by 2 days. These states include Maharashtra, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. State units were given the date of sending names for preparation of voter lists on June 19, which has been extended to June 21.

Himachal Pradesh unit elections were to be held in January
The Haryana unit was disbanded by the WFI officials, as the office bearers had overstayed their term and the state unit was completely inactive. The Himachal Pradesh unit elections were to be held in January this year, but could not be held due to the ongoing wrestling infighting. Most of the state units have sent the names of their members for the preparation of electoral rolls. Delhi Amateur Wrestling Association will be represented by President Olympian Jayaprakash and General Secretary Ramesh Pahalwan.

Protesters wrestlers started preparations
The protesting wrestlers have started preparing for the Asian Games amid the ongoing controversy with former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan. Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and his wife Sangeeta Phogat are back on the mat. He has started practice at SAI Center located in Sonipat. Vinesh Phogat had visited the center for practice on 9th June.

Vinesh’s cousin Geeta Phogat has also reached here for trial practice. Geeta took maternity leave in November 2021 after the National Championship in Gonda. Now she is returning to wrestling. She is accompanied by wrestler husband Pawan Saroha.