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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Mohali building collapse: Rescue operation underway
Chandigarh (PTI): A rescue operation at the site where a four-storey building collapsed in Sohana village of Punjab's Mohali district continued on Sunday, officials said.
The multi-storey building collapsed on Saturday evening, with at least five people trapped in its rubble. A 20-year-old woman died in the incident on Saturday evening.
The woman hailing from Himachal Pradesh, died after she was pulled out of the debris of the building. She was rescued from the rubble in critical condition and was rushed to a hospital, but she succumbed to her injuries.
The rescue effort continued overnight.
A man hailing from Ambala Cantt told reporters at the site that his 29-year-old son, who used to visit a gym in the building, was missing.
Police have booked two building owners in the incident.
Several excavators were pressed into service as part of the rescue operation.
National Disaster Response Team (NDRF), Army, state rescue teams have been working since Saturday evening to address the crisis. Medical teams, along with an ambulance, have also been deployed at the site since Saturday evening.
As the operation continued at the site, required equipment and machinery have been made available to the rescuers, in addition to those brought by the NDRF and Army.
"IndianArmy reacted swiftly for the rescue. In a remarkable display of coordinated efforts, #IndianArmy Columns along with #NDRF and State rescue teams have been relentlessly working to address the crisis.
"Engineer Task Force with debris clearance machine & JCBs are operational at site. Top debris removed & efforts being done to reach the basement," Western Command, Indian Army, said in a post on X.
After the incident on Saturday, all major hospitals in Mohali such as Civil Hospital (attached within Medical College), Fortis, Max and Sohana, were put on alert to cater to the wounded.
Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, who was at the spot on Saturday, had said a multi-agency rescue effort was underway.
