Express News Service
CHENNAI: Indian wrestlers have the potential to repeat their 2018 Gold Coast feat when they step on the mat at the Coventry Stadium in Birmingham on August 5 and 6 during the Commonwealth Games.
In the previous edition Down Under, every wrestler from the 12-member squad finished on the podium including five gold.
Two of those gold medallists — Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia — will be hoping to retain their respective titles while in-form Olympic silver medallist Ravi Dahiya would want to continue his winning streak by adding yet another medal on his maiden CWG outing. Only wrestlers from Canada and Nigeria are expected to give Indian grapplers a fight.
“The preparations have been good and we are expecting medals in each weight category. The 62kg and 57kg have good Nigerian wrestlers while Canadian wrestlers can prove to be tough opponents in the 76kg and 68kg. However, our wrestlers are ready for the challenge,” Jitender Yadav, chief coach of the women’s team, told this daily.
The equation is almost similar in the men’s section. Only nations that can challenge them are Nigeria and Canada in a couple of categories. One such wrestler is expected to be Amarveer Dhesi, an Indian-origin Canadian, who will meet youngster Mohit Grewal in 125kg.
“Some wrestlers can pose a challenge in a few weight categories. Amarveer is good too but a lot depends on the draw and how wrestlers fare on that particular day,” said Kuldeep Singh, former India coach.
The Indian teams (men and women) are scheduled to depart on August 2. The male wrestlers are camping at SAI Centre in Sonepat while their female counterparts are training at Lucknow’s SAI Centre for the quadrennial event.
Indian Squad
Men’s freestyle: Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), Naveen (74kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Deepak (97kg) and Mohit Grewal (125kg).
Women’s wrestling: Pooja Gehlot (50kg), Vinesh Phogat (53kg) Anshu Malik (57kg), Sakshi Malik (62kg), Divya Kakran (68kg) and Pooja Sihag (76kg).
Key medal prospects
Men
Ravi (57kg): He could not make the cut in 2018 but has been unstoppable since then winning the 2019 Worlds bronze, Olympic silver and three consecutive gold in Asian Championships.
Bajrang (65kg): He might be struggling with injuries but cannot be ruled out given his track-record in big-ticket events as he is the only Indian wrestler to have won three Worlds medals.
Deepak Punia (86kg): He missed a medal by a whisker at the Tokyo Games and has been battling injuries since then but he can win a medal if he can negotiate rivals from England and Nigeria.
Women
Vinesh (53kg): Despite encountering physical and mental challenges, Vinesh is a medal contender and will be hoping to bag third successive CWG gold (after topping in 2014 and 2018).
Anshu (57kg): She became the first woman wrestler from the country to win silver at the Worlds last year. On her debut, the Haryana grappler will look to clinch gold in Birmingham.
Sakshi (62kg): The two-time CWG medallist is the only Indian woman to bag an Olympic medal so far. She recently made a comeback to the Indian fold in her pet weight category and would look to change colour of medal as she had already won a bronze (2018) and a silver (2014) at the CWG.
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