The 13th edition of World Wrestling Championships will begin on Monday, August 21 in Paris with a huge Indian contingent eyeing glory at the highest level of the sport.
The Indian contingent has quite a few familiar names, including the Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, who will be competing in the 60kg category. Notably, the 24-year-old took a break from the sport and competed only in May 2017 at the Asian Wrestling Championships.
Ready to give everything to make #India proud at #Lutte2017! On our way to Paris. Thank you for your support ????? pic.twitter.com/yUv7jay0p9
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) August 19, 2017
Sakshi finished with a Silver after losing to Rio Olympic Gold medalist of the 63kg category, Risako Kawai, in the Gold medal bout. The first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal will be hoping to make a make a mark at the world meet.
Sakshi will be joined by Vinesh Phogat, who also clinched a Silver in 55kg at the Asian Wrestling Championships earlier this year. The 2014 Commonwealth Games Gold medalist has recovered well from the horrific injury she suffered at the Rio Games last year. Notably, the 22-year-old was in an imperious form before she pulled out of the quarter-final.
Vinesh would be motivated to make a mark in the upcoming world meet. She returns to the 48kg category, in which she competed at international tournaments before the Asian meet.
The Men's unit will be headlined by former Asian champion Sandeep Tomar, who showed promise when he beat Rio Gold medallist Vladimir Khinchegashvili in the Pro Wrestling League earlier this year.
The focus will also be on Bajrang Punia, the 2013 World Championships bronze medallist and the reigning Asian champion, who has also been the sparring partner of Olympic bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt.
Notably, the 23-year-old qualified for the world meet despite missing the National selection trials in July. He made the cut after winning a selection bout against Rahul Mann in the 65kg freestyle category.
Notably, India had won only one medal through Narsingh Yadav's bronze (74kg freestyle) at the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas. With a strong show at the Asian meet this year, the Asian giants will be looking to better the tally in Paris.
List of Indian wrestlers for the Paris World Championships
Women's wrestling
Vinesh Phogat (48kg), Sakshi Malik (60kg), Sheetal Tomar (53kg), Lalita Sehrawat (55kg), Pooja Dhanda (58kg), Shilpi Sheoran (63kg), Navjot Kaur (69kg), Pooja (75kg)
Men's wrestling
Freestyle
Sandeep Tomar (57kg), Harphool (61kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), Amit Dhankar (70kg), Praveen Rana (74kg), Deepak (86kg), Satywart Kadian (97kg), Sumit (125kg)
Greco Roman
Gyanendar (59kg), Ravinder (66kg), Yogesh (71kg), Gurpreet Singh (75kg), Harpreet Singh (80kg), Ravinder Khatri (85kg), Hardeep (98kg), Naveen (130kg)
Follow action live
India: TV: Star Sports Frist. Live streaming: Hotstar
Live streaming of the matches will be available on United World Wrestling official website.
Live scores can be followed on world wrestling Twitter page.
Full Schedule
Monday, August 21
Greco Roman 71, 75, 85, 98kg - Elimination and Final rounds
Tuesday, August 22
Greco Roman 59, 66, 80, 130kg - Elimination and Final rounds
Wednesday, August 23
Women 55, 58, 63, 75 - Elimination and Final rounds
Thursday, August 23
Women 48, 53, 60, 69 - Elimination and Final Rounds
Friday, August 24
Men's Freestyle 57, 61, 86, 125kg - Elimination and Final Rounds
Saturday, August 25
Men's Freestyle 65, 70, 74, 97 - Elimination and Final Rounds
