Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya to lead Indian squad at World Wrestling Championships
The Indian wrestling team will compete in the men's categories at the World Wrestling Championships 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia, next month under the direction of Tokyo Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya. At the 2019 world championships, Ravi Kumar Dahiya took home the bronze.
Indian athletes Bajrang Punia and Deepak Punia, who both won gold at the CWG, will also be vying for a coveted world championship gold. In addition to earning bronze in 2013 and 2019, Bajrang Punia earned silver in 2018. In the 2019 tournament, Deepak Punia made an impression when, competing in his first senior world event, he easily navigated the field to the final. He would have fought Olympic and world champion Hassan Yazdani in the final, but an injury forced him to accept silver instead.
The remaining competitors were picked via the selection trials held in Sonepat on Tuesday, while the three received automatic berths for their respective weight divisions at the world championships in Belgrade. Ten freestyle wrestlers and many Greco-Roman competitors were chosen.
While another CWG champion, Naveen, was chosen in the 70kg division, Sagar Jaglan, who took home bronze at the 2022 junior world championships, won the 74kg trials. The women's team will be led by Olympians Vinesh Phogat and Sonam Malik as world's silver medalist Anshu Malik will be absent due to elbow surgery.
Indian Men’s team
Freestyle
Ravi Dahiya (57kg), Pankaj Malik (61kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), Naveen Malik (70kg), Sagar Jaglan (74kg), Deepak Mirka (79kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Vicky Hooda (92kg), Vicky Chahar (97kg), Dinesh Dhankar (125kg)
Greco-Roman
Arjun Halakurki (55kg), Gyanender (60kg), Neeraj (63kg), Ashu (67kg), Vikas (72kg), Sachin (77kg), Harpreet Singh (82kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Deepanshu (97kg), Satish (130kg)
