Women wrestlers’ recent good show raises hopes for 2028 Olympic Games

Olympic: While the Indian media is almost entirely focussed on the ongoing India-England Test cricket series in England, Indian wrestlers have been quietly winning medals at international tournaments, their achievements largely going unnoticed.

Since March, Indian men and women wrestlers have competed in eight international tournaments overseas, winning a total of 133 medals across various categories. Of these, the women bagged 60 medals, while the men secured 73. However, the higher tally for men is largely because they participate in more categories.

In terms of gold medals, the women have outperformed the men, winning 31 against 23. They have also secured 18 silver medals—one more than the men. The men, however, have taken home 33 bronze medals compared to the women’s 11.

These figures cover eight competitions, from the Senior Asian Championship held in Amman in March to the 4th Ranking Series Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Tournament that concluded in Budapest on July 20.

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India tops rankings in Budapest

In Budapest, the Indian women finished atop the ranking table in a field of 18 nations. India and the USA both earned 130 points, but India claimed the top spot on the tie-break, which considered the number of gold, silver and bronze medals.

India’s gold medals came through Antim (53kg) and Harshita (72kg), while Neha (57kg) and Priya (76kg) secured silver. The USA, despite winning two gold medals, failed to clinch any silver, which worked in India’s favour.

Virender Dahiya, head coach of the women’s team since 2022, credited several factors for this success. “Since Indian teams started participating in competitions after the revoking of the suspension of the Indian wrestling federation, the girls too have been very enthusiastic, besides the boys. Also, there is a healthy competition amongst them for medals and they want to achieve a lot in a short time,” Dahiya told Patriot after returning from Budapest.

He added that age is a significant factor. Almost 90% of the women competing internationally are around 19–20 years old, which he considers “a good sign”.

Eyes set on Los Angeles 2028 Olympics

According to Dahiya, the women wrestlers are now targeting the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “We have very good prospects in women’s wrestling. All these girls are aiming for Olympic glory. Overseas exposure trips this year have also helped, as each girl has played an average of four international tournaments so far. This has left a good impact on the players,” he said.

Indian wrestlers have three major competitions coming up: the World Championships in September, the 2026 Asian Games, and the 2028 Olympics. Dahiya said that staying injury-free will be key to success. “If our wrestlers don’t get injured, we will perform well. The whole of 2027 would be dedicated to preparations for the Olympics, as the qualifying tournaments for the Games would begin that year,” he pointed out

The coach also credited the regular participation in overseas tournaments for the recent success.

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Delhi wrestlers making a mark

Dahiya, who also heads the Delhi government’s wrestling academy in Najafgarh, highlighted three outstanding wrestlers from Delhi. Shristi (68kg) won gold at last month’s Under-23 Asian Championship in Vũng Tàu, Vietnam, last month. Neha Sharma (57kg) has been particularly impressive, winning gold at the same championship, as well as at the 3rd Ranking Series Ulaanbaatar Open in Mongolia in May-June, the Yasar Dogu & Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan tournament in Kocaeli, Turkey, last month, and the Under-20 Asian Championship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, this month. However, Nitika (62kg), another talented wrestler and a silver medallist at the 2024 World Championships, has been injured and is now set to return in the upcoming nationals.