Fresh Indian wrestling squad heads for U-23 Worlds amid visa uncertainty
New Delhi: After a rigorous national trial process, a fresh batch of Indian wrestlers is set to compete at the U-23 World Championships in Las Vegas, beginning on October 12, even as visa delays threaten to reduce the size of the contingent.
In line with the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) policy of fielding separate squads for closely scheduled international assignments, the federation has selected a completely new roster for the Las Vegas event. The approach was also enforced during the recent Asian Games and senior-level World Championship trials.
The policy prevents top athletes from overlapping across senior and age-group events, paving the way for a new set of domestic trial winners to compete internationally.
Rohit (57kg) will lead the men’s freestyle contingent, Sweety (53kg) will represent India in women’s wrestling, and Vishvajit More (55kg) will spearhead the Greco-Roman squad. Several wrestlers will be looking to build on their previous international performances.
However, the federation’s plans have encountered an administrative hurdle. While the full 10-member men’s freestyle team has been cleared to travel, the final line-ups for Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling remain uncertain, with several wrestlers yet to receive their US visas.
The championships will begin with Greco-Roman events from October 12 to 14, followed by women’s wrestling from October 14 to 16. The men’s freestyle competitions will be held from October 16 to 18.
Indian squad (subject to final visa clearances for Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling):
Men’s freestyle: Rohit (57kg), Vaibhav Narayan Patil (61kg), Singh Jaskaran (65kg), Sumit Kumar Laxman Bharaskar (70kg), Adarsh Yuvraj Patil (74kg), Chandermohan (79kg), Amit (86kg), Nikhil (92kg), Shivam (97kg) and Ronak (125kg).
Women’s wrestling: Sweety (53kg), Komal (59kg), Mansi Lather (68kg), Amruta Shashikant Pujari (72kg) and Diksha Malik (76kg).
Greco-Roman: Vishvajit Ramchandra More (55kg), Chetan (63kg), Sagar Singh (67kg), Sourav Rana (72kg) and Karan Kamboj (87kg).