Satyawart Kadian is eagerly waiting for the national camp to resume so that he can begin preparations for the Tokyo Olympics in full swing. But as the long-wait continues, he has resorted to training under his guru (teacher) and father Satyawan Kadian. “He would make sure to attend the training session at least once every day. He is helping us working on our techniques,” he said.
The 26-year-old Haryana-born wrestler is training at his father’s akhada in Rohtak. He along with Olympic medallist Sakshi has dug up a mud pit where they practice their techniques. On other days, they would do mat training and sparring. Both husband and wife would do light partner training together but mostly it is with wrestlers of their weight category. “Mostly it is individual training that we are doing currently. We do sparring together but not intense one as we are of two different weight classes. However, we do light partner training together as a part of a warm-up routine,” the Asian Championship silver medallist in 97kg men’s freestyle told WrestlingTV.
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National camp likely from August
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is likely to resume the national camp in August. Indian wrestlers will join training after following testing and quarantine protocols. It is good, he said, that the training camp resumes. “It will help us train better. At the national camp, there is an environment of training and competitions. Also, we will have more partners in our weight class which will be good for sparring,” he said.
SAI has been in touch with wrestlers through the de-recognised WFI, regarding the camp.
“They were earlier planned to start this month but the wrestlers are understandably concerned. Most of them are training at home only and have proper safety measures in place. Also, there will be limited seats and the wrestlers are not sure if it would make sense to be in the camp without sufficient training partners,” a senior WFI official told Sportstar.
“But now we have spoken to them again and most have said let this month get over and things can begin from August. A final decision by SAI may be taken by next week but we expect the camps to begin by the first week,” he added.
The men’s camp for Freestyle and Greco-Roman will be held in Sonepat as for the women’s team the camp will be conducted in Lucknow. The camp will only be held for the Olympic weight categories.
Fresh trials for the Tokyo Olympics
WFI will conduct fresh trials in Tokyo Olympics build-up. The national selections for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers are likely to be held in January next year. In 97kg, Krishan Saroha and Mausam Khatri are probable challengers to Satyawart’s no.1 spot in the team. However, the latter is not scared of anyone but instead believes that it is only fair to give other’s chance to prove their mettle. “Everbody is at equal footing. We have not competed for long and there is always the possibility of losing the form we were once at. So, I think it is only fair to re-conduct the trial,” he said. “A wrestler always has to be ready for all the challenges that come his way. It is what sets him apart from the rest”.
