IOA's request for deadline extension to send wrestlers' entries rejected by Asian Games organisers

In a blow for the Indian Olympic Association, the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC) has declined the request for a further extension of the deadline to submit the names of the Indian wrestling team for the upcoming Asian Games.

The IOA had initially asked the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to extend the deadline to August 5, but they were only granted a seven-day extension until July 22.

The HAGOC has set July 15 as the deadline for all participating countries to provide the names of their athletes for the Asian Games, scheduled to take place from September 23 to October 8. Despite the IOA's renewed request to the OCA for an extension until August, HAGOC has rejected the proposal.

"The Hangzhou Organising Committee has rejected the IOA's request for further extension. They conveyed it to the OCA and OCA has told this to the IOA," revealed a source from the Indian Olympic Association as quoted by PTI

With the imminent July 22 deadline for finalizing the Indian wrestling team's selection and submitting the names to HAGOC, the IOA's ad-hoc panel is now faced with the challenge of conducting trials and making the team selection within a limited timeframe.

The request for a delay in submitting the names was initially made by the six protesting wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat, who are Olympic and Asian Games medallists. They had requested the Sports ministry to extend the trial dates, citing their inability to participate in trials due to the agitation against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

The IOA president had subsequently written to the OCA requesting an extension until August 10, which was later revised to August 5. However, the OCA granted only a seven-day extension until July 22.

Now that the HAGOC has rejected the IOA's request, the ad-hoc panel led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa will need to quickly organize the trials and make the necessary arrangements in order to meet the upcoming deadline.

Additionally, the proposal for a single bout for the protesting wrestlers has been discarded after facing opposition from other wrestlers, their coaches, and parents. The ad-hoc panel had initially suggested that the protesting wrestlers would compete in a one-off bout against the winners of the trials in their respective weight categories. However, due to strong objections, the panel has decided to abandon its own proposal.

Also read: Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh 'liable to be prosecuted & punished': Delhi Police chargesheet

(With PTI inputs)