Bajrang opts out of Zagreb Open, ad hoc panel picks 13 member wrestling team

Listen to Story Bajrang Punia, Antim Panghal, and three others opted out of the upcoming Zagreb Open as the ad hoc panel announced a 13 member team on Tuesday, leaving India unrepresented in five categories in Croatia. Senior Worlds bronze medallist Panghal has withdrawn because she wishes to attend the national sports award ceremony where she will be presented with the prestigious Arjuna award, and Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang, who has returned empty handed from the Asian Games, has also withdrawn.

Bajrang, one of the prominent faces of the wrestlers' protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, was the only one who did not compete in the men's freestyle, as the ad hoc panel chose Aman Sehrawat (57kg), Yash (74kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Vicky (97kg), and Sumit Malik (125kg), all of whom competed at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

"We had sought the consent of the wrestlers who were part of the Asian Games squad and only 13 gave their consent while five others didn't," Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, the head of the ad hoc panel, told PTI. When asked about his absence, Bajrang stated that he had not yet begun mat training and that joining the Indian team would be futile.

"I had recently undergone a thumb surgery. I have not yet started mat training. There is no point going to a tournament without proper practice. I have resumed fitness training though," Bajrang told PTI. Panghal, who won a bronze medal at the Asian Games, was not available for comment, but her coach, Vikas Bhardwaj, said she has opted out of the tournament because her ward has a sports awards ceremony on January 9, a day before the competition begins in Zagreb.

The team for the first world ranking tournament in Croatia's capital, which will be held from January 10 to 14, was chosen after visa issues were investigated. Panghal (53kg), Pooja Gehlot (50kg), Mansi Ahlawat (57kg), and Kiran (76kg), all members of the Indian team that competed in Hangzhou, also refused to give their consent, forcing the ad hoc body to select only two wrestlers in women's freestyle Sonam Malik (62kg) and Radhika (68kg) for the Ranking Series event.

The WFI is led by a three member committee appointed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) after the Sports Ministry suspended Sanjay Singh's newly elected national federation for violating its own constitution. "Thanks to a timely intervention by the Ministry of External Affairs, the 25 Indians due to travel to Zagreb will complete the visa formalities on Wednesday," Bajwa said in a press release.

"The team was facing difficulty in securing a visa appointment. However, the Ministry of External Affairs has helped the team in this regard." The team: Men Freestyle: Aman (57kg); Yash (74kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Vicky (97kg) and Sumit (125kg). Greco Roman: Gyanender (60kg), Neeraj (67kg), Vikas (77kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Narinder Cheema (97kg) and Naveen (130kg).

Women: Sonam (62kg) and Radhika (68kg). Coaching and support staff: Kuldeep Singh (team leader and coach), Vinod Kumar, Sujeet, Shashi Bhushan Prasad, Manoj Kumar, Virender Singh and Alka Tomar (coaches); Vishal Kumar Rai (physiotherapist) and Neeraj (masseur). Referees: Satya Dev Malik, Dinesh Dhondiba Gund and Sanjay Kumar..