Wrestling News: This week’s biggest news is Vinesh Phogat getting tested positive for covid-19. The Indian wrestler was supposed to attend the National Sports Award ceremony where she was to be bestowed with Khel Ratna. However, at the Sonepat NIC centre where she was scheduled to report, was tested positive. Her coach Om Prakash Dahiya who was to be honoured with Dronacharya Award (LIifetime) has also been tested positive.
Here are other top stories from this week:
1) World championships to become Bajrang Punia testing ground for Tokyo Olympics
World medallist Bajrang Punia has put hopes on the world championships scheduled in Serbia in December. He believes it will be a great way to test his skills and work on his shortcomings. “If all goes well, my target is world wrestling championships, leading up to Tokyo Olympics which is my main aim,” says Bajrang Punia determinedly. The Wrestler will be joining the national camp next week.
2) Women’s wrestling head coach comes up with a plan
Kuldeep Singh is no alien to training wrestlers during the tough situations. He was the man who motivated Sakshi Malik in the 2016 Rio Olympics to win a medal for the country. And once again he has now come up with a plan to train women wrestlers amid covid-19.
“I will make sure that they return to form quickly even if it takes us to put in more hours than usual. We are ready for the challenge,” he said. The Indian coach has devised a rough plan to make it happen. “In the first week, I will be watching on their fitness levels closely. Once I get an idea of where each wrestler stands, then I will make a separate training schedule for each one”.
3) Japan cancels its national championships
Due to growing numbers in Japan, the wrestling federation has decided to cancel its national championships. The competition was scheduled for October, however, as part of the preventive measures the decision was taken, said the Japan federation. “We would like to inform everyone that the event has been cancelled due to the new attack of covid in Japan”.
4) Paralympic champion wrestler Virender Singh demands Khel Ratna award
Virender Singh is probably the most successful Paralympian in India. The wrestler competes in the deaf category and has multiple medals to boast including three Deaflympics gold medal. However, despite the success, he is yet to be bestowed by India’s highest sporting award the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. In an Instagram post, he said,
“If there is any Paralympic athlete who can prove that s/he proves as many medals as me, I will not demand for the Khel Ratna”.
5) Geeta Phogat’s first challenge in Tokyo Olympics build-up
The Dangal queen has announced that she will be making her comeback to wrestling after a long hiatus. She will be targeting a return in the 62kg weight category challenging Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik and junior world champion Sonam. However, before taking on the younger challengers her first task would be to reduce 16kgs.
“I knew it would be hard. Whenever I would climb the weight machine, I could see the numbers going up each time. But somewhere I knew that if I had to wrestle again, I had to wrestle at the old weight category itself. All it needs is hard work and proper planning,” she said.
6) Close shave with Covid for Bajrang and Pooja
Recently, an employee was tested positive at Inspire Institute of Sports where Bajrang and Pooja Dhanda were training for past one month. However, the two had returned home to attend the national camp before it happened.
Pooja said, “I had come last week to attend the camp which is now postponed,” she said.
Meanwhile, an IIS official said, “the athletes have been following the covid-19 protocol since March. After the latest development, everyone has been asked to stay in their rooms before the situation is brought under control. Training will resume soon”.
7) Sonam Malik happy that national camp gets postponed
Indian wrestler Sonam Malik on Thursday “thanked God” after the Wrestling Federation of India decided to postpone the women’s national camp in Lucknow due to coronavirus.
She said, “I did not want to go to Lucknow. I am happy training here near my home in Sonepat. Thank God, it got postponed. I am training with my coach Ajmer sir. He is helping me overcome the weaknesses in my game. My speed has improved a lot”.
The camp was scheduled to resume from September 1.
8) National award ceremony to be held virtually
For the first time in national awards history, the event will be held virtually in the wake of coronavirus. The ceremony is scheduled to be held on Saturday (August 29), and the Ministry said that 65 out of the 74 awardees will be present. The programme will be telecast live on Doordarshan.
9) Bajrang Punia has urged WFI to organize national camp despite Vinesh’s covid news
Bajrang was bullish about the men’s camp, saying it should not be cancelled now despite Vinesh testing positive for the virus. The World Championship medallist said some risks are ought to be taken provided India wants to prepare well for the Tokyo Olympics. “Many major wrestling nations have begun the camps, be it Russia, USA or Georgia. We have to do something and take some risk. The World Championship in December is not important but Olympics is,” Bajrang told PTI.
10) Coach Kripa Shankar advice WFI on SOP’s for national championship
Coach Kripa Shankar on Thursday in a letter addressed to the Wrestling Federation of India sent suggestions for the national championship scheduled for December. In a 10-pointer letter, he wrote, “All the state wrestling federations should put their participants in a 14-day quarantine before sending them for the competition. This way we can reduce chances of covid-19 infection”.
1 Comment
l manjappa
some wrestlers are unnessarily avoiding national camp it is the right place to get good shape take precationary ,sop