Wrestler Rana alleges discrimination in national selection, WFI denies
New Delhi, June 9: Double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar was at the epicentre of yet another controversy on Saturday with upcoming wrestler Parveen Rana crying foul over the selection process of the Indian squad for the Asian Games.
Sushil (74 kilogram) and Bajrang Punia (61kg) were selected without a trial since the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) felt that the duo were too superior to other wrestlers in their respective categories.
Rana however, alleged that the WFI is biased in Sushil's favour
"First the WFI said that there will be a trial for the 74kg division. Then they said that there will no trial and Sushil has been selected. The WFI said that Sushil has been selected on the basis of his performance at the Commonwealth Games," Rana told IANS.
"If this continues, then me and other junior wrestlers will not be able to represent the country. It will ruin our careers," he lamented.
Rana also criticised the WFI's selection process for the World Championships to be held from October 20-28.
"There will be trials for the World Championships around 10-15 days later. Then those wrestlers in the 74kg category who have not participated in the Asian Games will compete against each other and the winner will then challenge Sushil," the 25-year-old said.
"So in that case we will have to give extra effort at the trials while Sushil will only have to compete in one bout," he added.
WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar however, argued that the selection process is clean and above board.
"Our target is to win medals. Sushil and Bajrang are the best in the categories. If they have to compete at the trials, then they will feel mentally disturbed. So we decided to give them a direct berth to enable them to carry on with their preparations and avoid the hassle of preparing for the trials," Tomar said.
"Rana has been given a chance at the international level in the recent past and his performance was not upto the mark. He was eliminated in the first round at the Asian Championships. The Asian Games are tougher than the Asian Championships," he added.
"Sushil is a double Olympic medallist and the best wrestler in India. Rana has not been able to beat him even once. He lost to Sushil at the nationals and the Commonwealth Championships."
In other freestyle categories, Mausam Khatri beat Satyawrat Kadyan to book his spot in the 97kg division. Pawan Kumar (86kg) and Sumit (125kg) also made the cut.
However, the trials in the 57kg category are yet to be completed as Sandeep Tomar, Utkarsh Kale and Ravi garnered equal number of points and will have to compete again.
In the Greco-Roman categories, Gyanendra (60kg), Manish (67 kg), Gurpreet Singh (77kg), Harpreet Singh (87 kg), Hardeep (97kg) and Naveen (125 kg) will represent India at the Asian Games.
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Gill leads Gujarat Titans to 5-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders
Ahmedabad (PTI): Shubman Gill led from the front with a classy 86 as Gujarat Titans defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in an Indian Premier League match here on Friday.
Earlier, KKR all-rounder Cameron Green produced a fighting 79 off 55 balls to lift his side to 180 all out. In reply, Gill anchored the chase with a composed 86 off 50 deliveries as GT crossed the line in 19.4 overs.
The win marked GT's third successive victory after opening with two losses, while KKR's search for their first win of the season continues.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 180 all out in 20 overs (Cameron Green 79; Kagiso Rabada 3/29, Mohammed Siraj 2/23).
Gujarat Titans: 181 for 5 in 19.4 overs (Shubman Gill 86; Varun Chakravarthy 2/34).
