<p>Bengaluru: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has set the selection criteria for the Asian Games in Japan later this year, stipulating that all medal winners from the 2025 Senior National Championships and 2026 Federation Cup are eligible for selection trials.</p>.<p>The eligibility criteria are set for all 18 Olympic weight categories in men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman, effectively ending Vinesh Phogat’s bid for a comeback. </p>.Govt expects medals from Haryana players, but does not provide required facilities: Vinesh Phogat.<p>The WFI further stated that the new selection policy requires “wrestlers to attend national camps to be eligible for national selection. It prohibits wrestlers from training independently and mandates Olympic Games quota-winning athletes to participate in a final one-bout selection trial”.</p>.<p>Vinesh, the 2018 Asiad champion, missed both the Nationals and Federation Cup and has not been part of any national camp since her U-turn from retirement late last year. </p>.<p>Having announced her retirement from wrestling following her disqualification from the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics, the 31-year-old has kept her whereabouts on training venue under wraps ever since her return. </p>.<p>Meanwhile the Asiad selection policy also mentioned that junior wrestlers, who bagged medals at the U-20 and U-23 Nationals (if held before the trials) are also eligible for the selection trials.</p>.<p><strong>Grapplers stuck</strong></p>.<p>Meanwhile, 16 Indian wrestlers, along with WFI support staff, are stuck in the Albanian capital Tirana since the medal rounds of the Muhamet Malo wrestling event got over there on Sunday. The wrestlers were supposed to fly out to India via Dubai but the flight was cancelled due to the escalating situation in the Middle East.</p>.<p>WFI president Sanjay Singh, however, confirmed to DH that the wrestlers would land in New Delhi on March 5, as an alternative route for the contingent has been booked.</p>.<p>“The entire team is kept safe and happy in Tirana. They will fly out from there tomorrow and will reach New Delhi via Istanbul and Almaty (Kazakhstan). We wanted to bring them off before Holi, but such is the international situation that we couldn’t manage it,” said Singh.</p>.<p>Meanwhile the Indian women’s wrestling coach Manjeet said that the team is staying in a hotel near the airport in Tirana and thanked WFI and the Indian government for their quick help and support.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has set the selection criteria for the Asian Games in Japan later this year, stipulating that all medal winners from the 2025 Senior National Championships and 2026 Federation Cup are eligible for selection trials.</p>.<p>The eligibility criteria are set for all 18 Olympic weight categories in men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman, effectively ending Vinesh Phogat’s bid for a comeback. </p>.Govt expects medals from Haryana players, but does not provide required facilities: Vinesh Phogat.<p>The WFI further stated that the new selection policy requires “wrestlers to attend national camps to be eligible for national selection. It prohibits wrestlers from training independently and mandates Olympic Games quota-winning athletes to participate in a final one-bout selection trial”.</p>.<p>Vinesh, the 2018 Asiad champion, missed both the Nationals and Federation Cup and has not been part of any national camp since her U-turn from retirement late last year. </p>.<p>Having announced her retirement from wrestling following her disqualification from the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics, the 31-year-old has kept her whereabouts on training venue under wraps ever since her return. </p>.<p>Meanwhile the Asiad selection policy also mentioned that junior wrestlers, who bagged medals at the U-20 and U-23 Nationals (if held before the trials) are also eligible for the selection trials.</p>.<p><strong>Grapplers stuck</strong></p>.<p>Meanwhile, 16 Indian wrestlers, along with WFI support staff, are stuck in the Albanian capital Tirana since the medal rounds of the Muhamet Malo wrestling event got over there on Sunday. The wrestlers were supposed to fly out to India via Dubai but the flight was cancelled due to the escalating situation in the Middle East.</p>.<p>WFI president Sanjay Singh, however, confirmed to DH that the wrestlers would land in New Delhi on March 5, as an alternative route for the contingent has been booked.</p>.<p>“The entire team is kept safe and happy in Tirana. They will fly out from there tomorrow and will reach New Delhi via Istanbul and Almaty (Kazakhstan). We wanted to bring them off before Holi, but such is the international situation that we couldn’t manage it,” said Singh.</p>.<p>Meanwhile the Indian women’s wrestling coach Manjeet said that the team is staying in a hotel near the airport in Tirana and thanked WFI and the Indian government for their quick help and support.</p>