Freestyle wrestlers miss out

Almaty (Kazakhstan), April 11

National champion Sandeep Singh Mann (74kg) failed to qualify for the Olympic Games at the Asian Qualifiers here today, keeping veteran Sushil Kumar’s Tokyo hopes alive in the weight category. Also missing out on qualification were Satywart Kadiyan (97kg) and Sumit Malik (125kg).

All those who missed out have one last chance to make the cut for the Tokyo Games at the World Qualifiers, scheduled to be held in Sofia, Bulgaria, on May 6-9. Sushil can get one last chance to book a ticket for the Tokyo Games, should he be picked for the world qualifiers.

Sandeep lost to Iran’s Yones Aliakbar Emamichoghaaei by technical superiority in the semifinals. Kadiyan lost his semifinal by technical superiority to Iran’s Mohammadhossein Askari Mohammadian. Sumit lost the semifinal 2-0 to local wrestler Yusup Batirmurzaev.

In freestyle, Bajrang Punia (65kg), Ravi Dahiya (57kg) and Deepak Punia (86kg) had qualified for Tokyo Games through the 2019 World Championship. — PTI