Wrestling News: Once again, Sports Authority of India has decided to postpone the plans for hosting the wrestling camp as top wrestlers express reservations over their return in wake of covid-19. Reportedly, SAI will get in touch with the grapplers in the first week of August to decide the fate of the training camp. Wrestling Federation Of India (WFI) assistant secretary Vinod Tomar said that only a few of the wrestlers were ready to return while most of them including the Tokyo Olympic prospects expressed their apprehension on the idea. “Most of them are training at home. They were of the view that it is better to stay at home until the end of this month and then reassess,” The New Indian Express quoted Tomar.
WFI plan was to organise the camp with reduced numbers. The camp was to be held only for the Olympic weight categories. Women wrestlers like Sakshi Malik, Anshu, Divya Kakran and Sonam were not in favour of resuming the camp. Jitender and Bajrang Punia too had their reservations due to the safety protocols which the duo would have to follow after moving to Sonepat from Vijaynagar where they are training.
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Tomar said that they still have time to prepare wrestlers for competitions if the camp is resumed in August. United World Wrestling (UWW) earlier this month had decided to host the world championships for both Junior and Senior division in Belgrade, Serbia. Both the competitions will be held at the end of this year. While the Junior Worlds are scheduled for December 4 to 10, the senior competition will be held from December 12 to 20. UWW will reassess their plan in August. “The Worlds are expected to be the first international event for our wrestlers. We have time and the wrestlers would be well prepared, if we manage to resume the camp in August,” said Tomar, reported The New Indian Express.