The postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021 due to coronavirus crisis has given rise to many questions. And one of them is how will wrestlers maintain competition weight – which is lower than usual weight — for one long year? Many wrestlers had moved down a weight class to compete at the Olympics. But with it pushed to next year, maintaining the weight which is lower than their usual relative mass will be a challenging task.
Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, Arjuna Awardee and coach at Changdiram akhara say that it will be the biggest concern for the likes of Ravi Dahiya and Jacarra Winchester. “Cutting down weight will not be a problem for the wrestlers. With the right training and diet, they can achieve it. What is more concerning is how they maintain it. For wrestlers who are competing in the category which is near their usual weight will not find it as difficult as those who have moved down to compete at the Olympics,” he told WrestlingTV.
The Wrestling Battles: Jordan Burroughs Vs Chamizo, rivalry between showmen of world wrestling
While the US wrestler Winchester shifted to 53kg from her usual 55kg to participate at the Tokyo Games, while Indian wrestler Dahiya competes in 57kg because his usual weight is around 61kg which is non-Olympic and 65kg is booked by teammate Bajrang Punia.
Dahiya had accepted that one of the reasons for him not going back home was due to the weight issue. He says “at home, I have the luxury of eating whenever I want and due to that I tend to increase my weight”. The 22-year-old wrestler is currently staying at his childhood akhara, Chhatrsaal Stadium and eats twice a day to maintain the weight.
“Here at the akhara, there is a strict schedule. So, I just eat two meals per day and then I exercise. That is how I am maintaining my weight,” said the 2019 world medallist in 57kg.Bishnoi too believes that this will be a long year for Dahiya. “His (Dahiya) body composition is that of a 61-65kg wrestler. He is tall, has more muscle mass too. It will be challenging for the likes of him to keep up with this weight for long”.
Other wrestlers who moved down a weight class are Kyle Dake from 79kg to 74kg, Sarah Hildebrandt from 53kg to 50kg, and Ilyas Bekbulatov from 70kg to 65kg amongst others.
The famed coach in his wrestling days also wrestled in lower categories than his usual weight. He says “in those days dehydration was the trend for losing weight. But it had an adverse effect on them mentally. However, they were lucky to have a days gap between weigh-in and the competition. So, they managed to recover it. But still, that phase did affect their reflexes”.
Today the wrestlers do not have the same luxury. The United World Wrestling (UWW) had made some big changes in 2018 as per which the wrestler would be weighed-in the same day as his match. This has brought made wrestlers to be in the right weight throughout the year.
Bishnoi says that the best thing wrestlers like Dahiya can do is take advice from the best dieticians and manage their macronutrients. “They need to maintain their macronutrients and train in the right way so that their body does not take a toll on them. Also, while they are in a lockdown they should take online classes by Sports Authority of India (SAI) on sports medicine and nutrition. It will help them a lot,” he concluded
