World Wrestling C’ships: Indian grapplers to compete under neutral flag with Olympic quotas on offer

The 2023 World Wrestling Championships is all set to commence on Saturday in Belgrade, Serbia. The event will serve as the first qualification event for the 2024 Paris Olympics next year.

With a total of 90 quotas – five each in 18 Olympic weight categories – up for grabs, some of the biggest and most experienced grapplers from across the globe will be in action over the course of the week-long tournament.

However, the same cannot be said about India, who have sent in a rather inexperienced team with a majority of their veterans not having travelled to Belgrade due to a combination of injuries and withdrawals.

While Vinesh Phogat and Ravi Kumar Dahiya have been side-lined with injuries, Bajrang Punia and Deepak Punia have pulled out of the event in order to keep themselves fit for the upcoming 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

In the absence of the well established stars, Indian hopes at the global event will be pinned on youngsters Antim Panghal in women’s 53kg and Aman Sehrawat in men’s 57kg.

Aged 19, both Panghal and Sehrawat have long been touted as the successors and biggest competitors to Phogat and Dahiya respectively.

While Panghal is a two-time U-20 World Champion and challenged Phogat’s inclusion in the Asian Games squad...

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