Gonda (Uttar Pradesh): In a major policy change, Indian Wrestling Federation It decided on Friday that if it deems necessary, it will ask quota-winning wrestlers to appear in trials before finalizing the Indian team for the next Olympics, a move that has irked top athletes.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) held its AGM in Gonda and in another major decision, passed a resolution that no state would be allowed to field more than one team at the national level, something that will hurt Haryana To all.
Until recently, the WFI had placed quota winners for the Olympics, but it feels the move will keep top wrestlers “on their toes”.
“Sometimes athletes hide an injury and go on to the Games despite being injured or not in form. This reduces the chances of a medal. Also, once the quota is sealed and it goes to the quota-winner. stays close, other athletes in that particular category lose motivation, a senior WFI official told PTI after the AGM.
A top athlete on condition of anonymity called the move “unfair”.
“It’s really motivational. It shouldn’t have happened. The quota should be with the winner only,” the wrestler said.
However, it will not be mandatory that all athletes be asked to appear in the trials. And if tests are conducted, the quota winner will not appear in the preliminary tests in that particular category, rather he will compete with the winner of those tests.
And if the quota-winner loses to the winner of the trial, he will be given another chance to maintain the quota through a second bout against the same opponent.
Big blow for Haryana
The WFI’s decision regarding team participation at the national level is a major setback for teams like Haryana, Railways and Services as the participation of athletes from these teams is maximum at the national level and will hurt their medal chances significantly.
In the ongoing National in Gonda also, these three teams have fielded A and B teams along with Delhi. There are so many good wrestlers in these teams that it is not possible to accommodate everyone in one team.
While WFI’s move is aimed at giving more chances to wrestlers from weaker states, Haryana and Services feel that it will definitely have an impact on the development of the game.
The WFI’s rationale behind this move is that the wrestlers of Haryana’s formidable team field six wrestlers in each category and this is unfair to other states.
“What happens is that Haryana fields one wrestler each in A and B teams and most of the athletes who are in railways and service sector are also from Haryana. Thus, Haryana would have six wrestlers in a category. And they have medals. The chances are maximized in a way that is unfair to other states.
“We want to fix this. Let Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and other states win medals at the national level. This will make wrestling popular in other states,” the official said.
Rajkumar Hooda, General Secretary Haryana Wrestling FederationDisappointed after the AGM.
“This is an injustice to Haryana. It will harm not only our state but also the country’s wrestling. All the seven Olympians had come from Haryana and yet we are being targeted,” he said.
Vijender, who is associated with Haryana Sports Department, also expressed surprise over the decision of WFI.
Vijender, who runs Mahadev Wrestling Academy in Rohtak, said, “Every state has its own USP. Like Haryana is good at contact sports and other states are good at some other sports. Why is that?”
Senior services coach Kuldeep Singh said, “The services provide employment to a lot of wrestlers. This is discouraging many people from taking up the sport.”
Also, the WFI decided that no wrestler would be allowed to change states and the athlete could only represent the state where he was born.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) held its AGM in Gonda and in another major decision, passed a resolution that no state would be allowed to field more than one team at the national level, something that will hurt Haryana To all.
Until recently, the WFI had placed quota winners for the Olympics, but it feels the move will keep top wrestlers “on their toes”.
“Sometimes athletes hide an injury and go on to the Games despite being injured or not in form. This reduces the chances of a medal. Also, once the quota is sealed and it goes to the quota-winner. stays close, other athletes in that particular category lose motivation, a senior WFI official told PTI after the AGM.
A top athlete on condition of anonymity called the move “unfair”.
“It’s really motivational. It shouldn’t have happened. The quota should be with the winner only,” the wrestler said.
However, it will not be mandatory that all athletes be asked to appear in the trials. And if tests are conducted, the quota winner will not appear in the preliminary tests in that particular category, rather he will compete with the winner of those tests.
And if the quota-winner loses to the winner of the trial, he will be given another chance to maintain the quota through a second bout against the same opponent.
Big blow for Haryana
The WFI’s decision regarding team participation at the national level is a major setback for teams like Haryana, Railways and Services as the participation of athletes from these teams is maximum at the national level and will hurt their medal chances significantly.
In the ongoing National in Gonda also, these three teams have fielded A and B teams along with Delhi. There are so many good wrestlers in these teams that it is not possible to accommodate everyone in one team.
While WFI’s move is aimed at giving more chances to wrestlers from weaker states, Haryana and Services feel that it will definitely have an impact on the development of the game.
The WFI’s rationale behind this move is that the wrestlers of Haryana’s formidable team field six wrestlers in each category and this is unfair to other states.
“What happens is that Haryana fields one wrestler each in A and B teams and most of the athletes who are in railways and service sector are also from Haryana. Thus, Haryana would have six wrestlers in a category. And they have medals. The chances are maximized in a way that is unfair to other states.
“We want to fix this. Let Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and other states win medals at the national level. This will make wrestling popular in other states,” the official said.
Rajkumar Hooda, General Secretary Haryana Wrestling FederationDisappointed after the AGM.
“This is an injustice to Haryana. It will harm not only our state but also the country’s wrestling. All the seven Olympians had come from Haryana and yet we are being targeted,” he said.
Vijender, who is associated with Haryana Sports Department, also expressed surprise over the decision of WFI.
Vijender, who runs Mahadev Wrestling Academy in Rohtak, said, “Every state has its own USP. Like Haryana is good at contact sports and other states are good at some other sports. Why is that?”
Senior services coach Kuldeep Singh said, “The services provide employment to a lot of wrestlers. This is discouraging many people from taking up the sport.”
Also, the WFI decided that no wrestler would be allowed to change states and the athlete could only represent the state where he was born.
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