With injuries putting a question mark on the participation of the experienced duo of Suhil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, Indian hopes at the upcoming 26th Senior Asian Wrestling Championships will mostly rest on the shoulders of young guns who are relatively new at the senior level. Despite this, there is no lack of confidence and high spirits in the Indian camp. Ajeyo Basu gives you a lowdown
First the bad news. Olympic stars Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt are all but out of the 26th Senior Asian Wrestling Championships.
Both wrestlers are nursing injuries — Sushil, his shoulder and Yogeshwar, his knee — and both are now aiming for the World Championships in September.
But the good news is, despite their absence, Indian wrestlers and coaches are confident of giving a good account of themselves at the tournament which will be held at the KD Yadav Stadium here from April 18-22.
The true strength of any team is reflected in its capacity to replace senior players. Going by this parameter, Indian wrestling can look forward to a bright future.
Sushil, who is arguably the best wrestler in the world in the 66 kg category, will be replaced by Amit Kumar.
Sushil’s former training partner, the promising Praveen Rana who is fast transforming into the next big thing in Indian wrestling, will compete in the 74 kg category.
The baby faced 19-year-old won the gold medal at his very first tournament at the senior level — the Hari Ram Indian Wrestling Grand Prix last year. It should come as no surprise if he manages to wrest a podium finish this time as well.
He showed excellent composure and ability to perform calmly under pressure and could find himself among the medals at the continental event.
Yogeshwar will be replaced by Bajrang. Although the youngster will be making his debut at the senior level, his coaches have a lot of hope on him.
In the absence of the two Olympic medalists, Narsingh Pancham Yadav is the most experienced of the lot. The lad from eastern Uttar Pradesh, who won the gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, will compete in the 84 kg category.
The 2012 Asian Championships bronze medallist Amit Kumar is also a good bet for a medal and will be seen in action in the 55kg freestyle category.
In the Greco-roman events, Asian Games bronze medallist Ravinder Singh and Sunil Rana will carry the Indian hopes in the 60kg and 66kg categories respectively.
This time there is a foreign flavour to the Indian preparations. A team of wrestlers from Georgia is at the national camp in Patiala in order to train with the Indian squad.
“We have a few wrestlers from Georgia practicing with us. This will be a valuable experience for our boys. The eastern European nations are very strong in wrestling and these kind of training stints will help us a lot,” chief national coach Vinod Kumar said, hinting that more such events could be in the offing in the future.
Asked to point out which of his wards he finds most promising, Vinod Kumar rattles off a string of names.
“Praveen Rana is good. Narsingh is the most experienced. Amit is developing well,” he said. “All our boys are talented and this tournament will provide valuable experience to them.”
He also denied that his wards will suffer from lack of experience. “Narsingh has been at the Olympics. He has plenty of experience. The others are new to the senior level, but have done well in the events in which they have taken part,” he told Foray.
In high spirits they may be, but the Indian squad is acutely aware of the fact that the level of competition will be a test by fire for the youngsters.
Asian nations won the most number of medals at the london Olympics last year and the hosts will find themselves up against Olympic medalists and past and present world champions.
Grapplers from Iran and the former Soviet republics are physically strong as well as technically adept and the former is expected to walk away with a lion’s share of the medals.
Iran would be the team to beat - they have bagged the 2012 continental title in both freestyle and greco roman categories.
The Mongolians are also formidable opponents while Japan and South Korea are good at the lower weight categories.
More than 20 countries including powerhouses Iran, Japan, Korea, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia are expected to participate in this championships.
India has fared well at the continental championships having won 15 medals in the last three editions. This is the sixth time India is hosting this championship. New Delhi is staging it for the fourth time.
Vinod Kumar believes that the level of the competition in the tournament is going to be top notch and it will not be very easy to reach the medal rounds.
Talking about Indian’s chances, he asserted that he expects Indian wrestlers to do well, but cautioned that the going will not be easy.
"Asia did really well at the 2012 london Olympic and the continental championship will be one to look for. We can expect to see a number of Olympic and World Champions," he said.
"Our training has been of a very high standard, we have focused on all aspects of the game. No doubt the nature of the competition is going to be tough and unpredictable, but we are hoping to match last year’s performance, if not better it."
There is a buzz of hope around the women’s squad as well.
Geeta Phogat (59 kg), who competed at the london Olympics last year, is easily the most bankable star.
She had won the gold medal at the 2007 Junior Asian Wrestling Championships. She is also the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games - a feat she achieved during the 2010 edition in front of her home fans in New Delhi.
Her younger sister Babita who earlier competed in the 51 kg category, will feature in the 55 kg category, won a bronze medal at the World Championships last year and could finish on the podium at the Asian hampionships as well.
The experienced Navjot Kaur, who competes in the 67 kg category, is also a strong bet for a medal.
"Whether Sushil and Yogeshwar are there or not, we will fight with the wrestlers we have," Vinod Kumar said.
"Our boys may be young, but several of them have already done well at the international level. We are confident of doing well," he added.
Brave words indeed. let us hope his boys will walk the talk.