Sunil Kumar, a prominent figure in Indian wrestling, has kept the nation’s hopes alive for representation in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Competing in the 87kg category, Kumar is currently participating in the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers held in Istanbul, Turkey.
Kumar’s journey in the qualifiers has been a rollercoaster. He started strong by defeating Olympian Jose A Vargas Rueda 3-1 in the opening round. However, he faced a setback in the second round, losing to Azerbaijani grappler Rafig Huseynov, a two-time world champion and bronze medal winner in the Greco-Roman 77kg weight class at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
What’s next for Sunil Kumar?
Despite the loss, Kumar’s Olympic dreams are far from over. Since Huseynov made it to the top two, securing one of the two quotas available in the division, Kumar has been given a second chance through the repechage. He is expected to fight Greece’s Ilias Pagkalidis, the wrestler Huseynov defeated in the opening round, in his first repechage round. To secure the quota, Kumar will need to win four bouts.
This opportunity is crucial for Kumar and for India. The nation’s Greco-Roman wrestlers had previously failed to secure a single Paris 2024 Olympics quota from the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Kumar was the only Indian wrestler who managed to win a bout in Bishkek, defeating Japan’s Soh Sakabe 5-1 in the qualification round of the 87kg weight category.
Sunil Kumar will be the only Indian wrestler who will go into the Repechage matches tomorrow.
He will need to win 4 bouts tomorrow for the Quota.Tough task but certainly not impossible considering how well he performed today.#Wrestling #Paris2024 https://t.co/YLimxPjj9Y pic.twitter.com/w94XwXAxrf
— Rambo (@monster_zero123) May 9, 2024
Apart from Sunil, Sumit (60kg), Ashu (67kg), Vikas (77kg), Nitesh (97kg) and Naveen (130kg) lost their bouts, with the focus now shifting to freestyle.
The World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in Istanbul is the final opportunity for wrestlers to obtain a quota for the upcoming Summer Games. Three Paris 2024 Olympic quotas are on offer in each weight class. The two finalists in each division will obtain Paris 2024 Olympic quotas for their respective countries. The third spot will go to the winner of the playoff bout between the two bronze medallists in the weight class.
Also Read: Jay Shah reveals the man behind the snub of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer from Central Contract
