The 74kg Men’s freestyle has become a battleground in India. With the Tokyo Games postponed, many heavyweights now eye for a chance to prove their worth for the Olympics. The newest member to throw his hat in the fray is Parveen Rana.
Rana was once dubbed as the poster boy for the next-gen of Indian wrestlers. But his recurring injuries have made his return to the mat difficult. After repeated failure to make it to the Indian senior team, he is now ready to cash in on the opportunity and bid his chances for the Tokyo Olympics. The Summer Games which were scheduled to be held this year were deferred to July 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The decision has given the 28-year-old a new breath of life who eyes a return to the mat.
“In previous trials, I was injured (knee injury) and could not give my 100%, but now I have got time and I am fully fit and ready to compete in the trials,” he told WrestlingTV.
Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) assistant secretary Vinod Tomar had said that with the Olympics postponed they will hold fresh trials in the weight categories which are yet to book a place for Tokyo. It means that there will be a high possibility of a try-out in the 74kg freestyle.
Currently, Jitender is India’s top choice for the category but Sushil Kumar, Narsingh Yadav and Rana will bid their chances for the spot in the senior team. Rana said that he is ready and will give 100% when the time comes. “I will try my best to do good, I am just concentrating on my training,” he said.
He also believes that the 74kg is a very competitive weight bracket in India with the likes of two-time Olympic medallist Sushil, 2020 Asian Championship silver medallist Jitender and 2010 Commonwealth Games champion Narsingh in the fray. Anyone can win and ultimately it would come down to who was the best when it mattered the most.
“I think all wrestlers Sushil, Jitender, and Narsingh are equal in 74Kg, no one is less than anyone. It will be good competition. Rest it depends on who played well on a particular day”.
Rana expressed his happiness over Narsingh’s return too. The latter was slapped a four-year ban after failing the dope test on two occasions at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The ban would end in July and would make Narsingh eligible to compete in national and international tournaments.
“I am very happy Narsingh is back. He is a very good wrestler. When I met him before the Olympics postponement, he was saying that I am ready to return. So now all are ready to cash in on the chance,” he said.
Narsingh had also earlier said that he is all set for the comeback and will ask WFI for a chance to prove his mettle.
For now, WFI is still to issue an official statement on when they will conduct the trials.
