New Delhi: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) ad-hoc panel on Tuesday handed Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia and World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat direct entries into the Asian Games, a decision which was taken without the consent of the national chief coaches.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) ad-hoc panel said in a circular that it has already selected wrestlers in men's freestyle 65kg and women's 53kg but trials will be held in all six weight categories in each of the three styles.
The ad-hoc panel did not name Bajrang and Vinesh in the circular but panel member Ashok Garg confirmed to PTI that the two wrestlers have been exempted from the trials.
The IOA ad-hoc committee took the decision just four days before the trials to select the wrestling squad for the Games, scheduled to commence on September 23 in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
The Greco-Roman and women's freestyle trials are scheduled for Saturday, while the men's freestyle trials will be held on Sunday at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi.
Bajrang, the 65kg wrestler, who was one of the six protesting wrestlers at Jantar Mantar demanding the arrest of outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, is currently training in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan.
Vinesh, the 53kg wrestler who won the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games gold medal, is training in Budapest, Hungary.
The move to exempt Bajrang and Vinesh, however, has not gone down well with fellow competitors, who have threatened to move court.
