Wrestling at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will start on August 1 and will conclude on August 7. The sport will have two different disciplines; freestyle and Greco-Roman. While these two disciplines will be divided into different weight categories, women will only compete in freestyle, but men will compete in both.
The seven-day wrestling event will see Greco-Roman being held from August 1 to 4, and it will be followed by freestyle from August 4 to 7. Women’s wrestling, however, will take place across all seven days.
In a total of 18 different events at the World Games, India will see seven wrestlers competing in the freestyle category. The contingent is led by Bajrang Punia who will compete in the 65kg category.
In June, it was confirmed that four out of the seven Indian wrestlers were seeded in their respective categories. This includes the likes of Bajrang Punia, Deepak Punia, Ravi Kumar and Vinesh Phogat.
Bajrang and Deepak are seeded second in the 65kg and 86kg category respectively while Ravi is seeded fourth in the 57kg category. Vinesh, on the other hand, is the top-seeded female wrestler in the 53kg category.
While both Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat are India’s medal hopefuls, youngsters like Anshu Malik and Sonam Malik have also shown immense talent and promise on the national circuit and will be hoping to make an impact.
But it goes without saying that all eyes will be on Bajrang Punia. After all, he has won medals in all of his last 10 international tournaments which includes six gold medals, three silver and one bronze. His competition in the 65kg category is set to be Russia’s Rashidov Gadzhimurad, who has won gold medals in four of his last five tournaments.
Vinesh, who was the first Indian wrestler to qualify for the World Games, will be a favourite for a podium finish after North Korea decided to pull out of the Olympics. It means that world champion Pak Yong-mi will no longer be a hurdle for Vinesh to overcome.
Indian wrestlers at Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Men’s Freestyle: Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), Deepak Punia (86kg)
Women’s Freestyle: Seema Bisla (50kg), Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Sonam Malik (62kg)
Indian wrestlers at Tokyo 2020: Schedule, fixtures and live India match times
Ravi Kumar Dahiya - 57kg freestyle - coverage from 8:00 AM IST
August 4 - till semi-finals
August 5 - repechages, bronze medal match and final
Deepak Punia - 86kg freestyle - coverage from 8:00 AM IST
August 4 - till semi-finals
August 5 - repechages, bronze medal match and final
Bajrang Punia - 65kg freestyle - coverage from 8:00 AM IST
August 6 - till semi-finals
August 7 - repechages, bronze medal match and final
Sonam Malik - 62kg freestyle - coverage from 8:00 AM IST
August 3 - till semi-finals
August 4 - repechages, bronze medal match and final
Anshu Malik - 57kg freestyle - coverage from 8:00 AM IST
August 4 - till semi-finals
August 5 - repechages, bronze medal match and final
Vinesh Phogat - 53kg freestyle - coverage from 8:00 AM IST
August 5 - till semi-finals
August 6 - repechages, bronze medal match and final
Seema Bisla - 50kg freestyle - coverage from 8:00 AM IST
August 6 - till semi-finals
August 7 - repechages, bronze medal match and final
Where to watch Wrestling at Tokyo 2020 Olympics live in India?
Wrestling at Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be telecast on the Sony Pictures Network India. Coverage will begin live at 8:00 AM IST on Sony’s TV channels in India.
Live streaming of the Wrestling matches at Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be available on the SonyLIV app and website.
