Asian Games: Frustrated wrestlers approach Delhi court

CHENNAI: In order to maintain his weight, he has been adhering to a stringent eating plan. He had not seen his twin sister in about eight months since he was staying away from his family. to participate in the Asian Games trials together. Now it can just be a pipe dream.

Sujeet Kalkal, a wrestler, watched in elation and delight as his favourite tennis player, Carlos Alacaraz, ushered in a new era at Wimbledon on Sunday by defeating 23-time Grand Slam victor Novak Djokovic. Similar to the Spaniard, Sujeet, 20, had to defeat his well-known and experienced rival, Bajrang Punia, if he wanted to realise his lifelong dream of winning an Olympic medal. He nearly fell to the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist in their first encounter last year at the 2022 Commonwealth Games selection trials.

But he had a chance to exact revenge at the next tryouts to choose the national team for the Asian Games. Having defeated Djokovic, Alcaraz has given him hope. He was prepared to compete on the mat against multiple World Championship medalist Bajrang.

Unfortunately, Sujeet’s hopes were dashed when Bajrang and Vinesh Phogat were given direct entrance in the men’s freestyle 65 kg and women’s 53 kg matches by the ad-hoc committee managing the sport in the nation in the absence of the Wrestling Federation of India. He questioned, “How can they deny wrestlers who have worked hard for years a chance to compete?” “To get here, we’ve all made a lot of sacrifices. I’m not requesting direct entry. To be considered for a berth on the national squad, I am only asking for a fair trial.

The wrestler and Antim Panghal, who participates in the 53kg division, filed a petition with the Delhi High Court on Wednesday contesting the direct entry that the ad hoc panel granted to Bajrang and Vinesh. On Thursday, the hearing is scheduled. Sujeet, the current national champion in the 65 kg weight class, continued, “We hope the court listens to our petition and grants us justice.

avoiding the twin sister

Dayanand Kalkal, Sujeet’s father and coach, has moved with him to Sonepat so that he can concentrate on wrestling and routinely train there even if his family still resides in Dadri. We have been renting a home in Sonepat for more than two years. Since over eight months ago, I haven’t seen my mother Manjeet Devi or twin sister Sujata. Being apart from my twin sister is challenging because she misses me a lot. But those are the sacrifices we must make if we want to represent our nation and take home international medals, said the wrestler, who finished first in the Tunisia Ranking Series in addition to winning a gold medal at the U-23 and junior Asian Championships last year.

Sujeet has been working to maintain his weight in preparation for the Asian Games trials. It meant he had to forgo eating churma, his preferred sweet dish made by mashing up chapati with ghee and jaggery. “My mum used to send churma earlier, but I haven’t had any in the last two to three months. She has my permission not to send me churma. I’ve been avoiding it, despite her insistence,” continued Sujeet. Sujeet on Wednesday decided to forgo the training in the evening and watch his favourite travelling show on Discovery channel while his father was busy completing the legal requirements to file a writ petition in court. “I enjoy going places. Apart from tennis, I also watch football. My favourite football player is Neymar. I can relax and focus by watching my favourite athletes and TV shows. Additionally, it aids with stress relief.