Wrestling trials to take place from July 20 after ‘unofficial’ assurance from OCA, claims ad-hoc panel member | More sports News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The trials to select wrestlers for the Asian Games are expected to take place around July 20 after an “unofficial” assurance was given by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to extend the deadline for sending entries by name to the Games’ organisers.
The OCA has set July 15 as deadline for sending entries by name to the Asian Games organisers but following efforts made by the Indian Olympic Association‘s ad-hoc committee for wrestling, the OCA is reportedly contemplating extending the deadline. But assurances apart, the duration of relaxation has so far not been shared with the ad-hoc panel.
Gian Singh, a member of the ad-hoc panel, told PTI that, “There is so far no mail from the OCA (regarding granting extension) but unofficially they have said that they are willing to relax the dates for sending entries by name. But they have not confirmed the duration of the relaxation. Until we get confirmation, we cannot say whether they will extend it by 10, 12, 15 days or more.
“However, without delaying the process any further, we will announce the dates for the Asian Games trials by Monday (July 10) and they will likely be held around July 20,” he said.
The IOA had requested the OCA to extend the deadline for sending entries to the Games’ organisers until August 10 to provide protesting wrestlers with sufficient time to prepare. Six wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat, had requested additional time to prepare for the Asian Games trials due to their 38-day protest against the outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The ad-hoc panel exempted them from the trials and made it a one-bout affair, which received criticism from various quarters.
Gian said the wrestlers will be given adequate time to plan their preparation and arrival for the trials.
“We will give at least 10 days’ time to the wrestlers to prepare for the trials. Grapplers will come from across the country, so we need to give them at least 10 days to prepare,” he added.
The ad-hoc panel is also exploring the possibility of including the six protesting wrestlers as reserves for the Asian Games. If they win the one-off bout against the winner of the trials in August, they could be accommodated in the Indian contingent.
“We explored the possibility of sending two entries per weight category for the Games. But, apparently, that is not possible. There is, however, a provision for sending names of reserves.
“The six wrestlers who had sought more time for trials will then be included as reserves. So, we will send one confirmed entry and the names of the six grapplers who had sought more time would be put on the reserves’ list. There is a provision for sending the names of three male and three female wrestlers as reserves,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)