India are sending as many as eight wrestlers in the Rio Olympics 2016 and this does give an indication that the amount of medals coming in from the sport this time around could be more than what we witnessed last year. Both freestyle and greco-roman wrestlers from India will feature in the Olympics after a long time.
Also, the number of women athletes from India competing this time gives an indication how popular and serious wrestling has become over the years in the country.
However, the big question remains if India can really overpower top countries like United States, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran and Russia in the sport. Indian legend Sushil Kumar is not a part of the Olympics this time around and Narsingh Yadav, who wrestles in the same weight category as him (74 kg), was given the go-ahead by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to compete in Rio Olympics.
The 26-year-old got embroiled in a doping controversy just ahead of the games and the verdict is still not out whether he will participate in Rio 2016. However, if he indeed gets the nod from all the big organisations and associations, what remains to be seen is how much focus gets left in him after all the last-minute headaches.
Nevertheless, plenty of hopes will be pinned on the likes of Yogeshwar Dutt and the women wrestlers from India. Let us look at the wrestlers from India for Rio Olympics 2016 and their toughest competitors:
Yogeshwar Dutt
Age: 33
Born: Haryana
Weight category: 65 kg
Olympic appearances so far: 2
Major achievement: Bronze medal in 2012 London Olympics
Toughest competitors in Rio 2016: Frank Chamizo (Italy), Soslan Ramonov (Russia), Israil Kasumov (Russia)
Medal contender in Rio 2016: Yes
Narsingh Yadav
Age: 26
Born: Varanasi
Weight category: 74 kg
Olympic appearances so far: 1
Major achievement: Gold medal in 2010 Commonwealth Games
Toughest competitors in Rio 2016: Jordan Burroughs (USA), Aniuar Geduev (Russia), Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia)
Medal contender in Rio 2016: Possibly
Sandeep Tomar
Age: 25
Born: Sonipat
Weight category: 57 kg
Olympic appearances so far: None
Major achievement: Gold medal in Asian Wrestling Championships 2016
Toughest competitors in Rio 2016: Vladimer Khinchegashvili (Georgia), Hassan Rahimi (Iran), Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez (Cuba)
Medal contender in Rio 2016: No
Ravinder Khatri
Age: 24
Born: Haryana
Weight category: Greco-Roman 85 kg
Olympic appearances so far: None
Major achievement: Silver medal at the 2016 Asian Olympics qualifier in Astana, Kazakhstan
Toughest competitors in Rio 2016: Zhan Belenyuk (Ukraine), David Chakvetadze (Russia), Rustam Assakalov (Uzbekistan)
Medal contender in Rio 2016: No
Hardeep Singh
Age: 25
Born: Haryana
Weight category: Greco-Roman 98 kg
Olympic appearances so far: None
Major achievement: Silver medal at the 2016 Asian Championships in Bangkok
Toughest competitors in Rio 2016: Nikita Melnikov (Russia), Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia), Ghasem Rezaei (Iran)
Medal contender in Rio 2016: No
Vinesh Phogat
Age: 21
Born: Haryana
Weight category: 48 kg
Olympic appearances so far: None
Major achievement: Gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Toughest competitors in Rio 2016: Mariya Stadnik (Azerbaijan), Yanan Sun (China), Eri Tosaka (Japan)
Medal contender in Rio 2016: Possibly
Babita Kumari
Age: 26
Born: Haryana
Weight category: 55 kg
Olympic appearances so far: None
Major achievement: Gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Toughest competitors in Rio 2016: Erdenechimegiin Sumiyaa (Mongolia), Saori Yoshida (Japan), Sofia Mattsson (Sweden)
Medal contender in Rio 2016: Possibly
Sakshi Malik
Age: 23
Born: Haryana
Weight category: 58 kg
Olympic appearances so far: None
Major achievement: Silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth games and a bronze medal at the 2015 Asian championships
Toughest competitors in Rio 2016: Kaori Icho (Japan), Johanna Mattsson (Sweden), Jale Yesilirmak (Turkey)
Medal contender in Rio 2016: No
