All eyes on Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat at World Championships

TIL Desk Sports/ A reality check awaits India’s top wrestlers at the World Championships where they will chase not only glory but also Tokyo Olympics qualification, in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, from Saturday. The run-up to the Worlds has been spectacular for Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat while decent results have provided a dose of confidence to a few others like Divya Kakran.

Bajrang triumphed at all four events he competed this season — Dan Kolov, Asian Championship Ali Aliev and Yasar Dogu — and will go into the Championships as the world number one and top seed in 65kg. For Vinesh, the season began in a new weight category as she moved up to 53kg from 50kg.

She took some time to settle in her new class but still made five finals, winning three golds – Yasar Dogu, Grand Prix of Spain and Poland Open. While skill is not an issue with Vinesh, holding off strong candidates for six minutes is a big challenge, she herself had admitted recently.