Aman Sehrawat among top contenders as Bengaluru gears up to host Wrestling Nationals

BENGALURU: Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat will headline a star-studded line-up as Bengaluru prepares to host the senior national wrestling championship for the first time ever, from December 6 to 8.

Joining Aman on the mats will be U-20 World Wrestling Champion Antim Panghal, along with 2019 World Championship silver medal winner Deepak Punia, U23 world champion Reetika Hooda, Olympian Sonam Malik, Radhika, Manisha Bhanwala, Bipasha, Priya, Udit, Chirag, Sunil Kumar, and Narinder Cheema.

The event will be held at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium and the championship is expected to feature over 1000 participants and officials from across 25 affiliated state member units as well as Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) and Services Sports Promotion Board (SSPB).

"The Wrestling Federation of India is proud to bring the Senior National Wrestling Championship to Karnataka for the first time. All the top wrestlers in India will be participating in this event and we are excited to work alongside the Karnataka Wrestling Association to make this championship a success," Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Sanjay Singh was quoted as saying in a release.

Interestingly, Satyawart Kadian, husband of Sakshi Malik, had recently challenged the organisation of the National Championships by the suspended WFI in the court.

The Court had given a go ahead for championships but said that the results should not be considered for establishing rankings and deciding India's entries for international tournaments.

"We are going to appeal this ruling. How can we ignore the results of the Nationals. This is not acceptable," said a WFI source.