Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya eliminated from Paris Olympics qualification race

Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya were eliminated from the race for the Paris Olympics qualification.

Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya – the Tokyo Games medallists – were on March 10 eliminated from the race for the Paris Olympics qualification after losing their respective bouts in the selection trials for the national team.

Punia, who was a prominent face of protest against former WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, suffered a crushing 1-9 defeat in the men's freestyle 65kg semifinal against Rohit Kumar.

This was after he barely managed to win against Ravinder (3-3 on criteria) in the opening round.

If Ravinder had not conceded a caution point in the bout, Punia would have been eliminated in the opening bout itself.

Punia had trained in Russia to prepare for the trials, which are being organised by the IOA ad-hoc panel.

Punia though won a case in the Delhi High Court after contending that the suspended Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had no authority to conduct trials.

He left the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in Sonepat in a huff after being eliminated. The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) officials tried to collect a sample for a dope test from Punia but he did not stay back even for the third-fourth place bout. As fate would have it, it will be Sujeet Kalakal who will now strive to earn qualification in the 65kg for the Paris Games after winning a spot in the Indian team.