Wrestling Federation picks squads for Sr Asian Championships; Beach Asian Games

New Delhi, March 17 (IANS) Woman grapplers Meenakshi Goyat, Hanshika, and Mansi Lather, along with male freestyle competitors Aman, Sandeep Singh Mann, Mukul Dahiya, and Greco-Roman Style contestants Sachin Sehrawat and Sunil Kumar, topped their respective weight categories in the selection trials for the 2026 Senior Asian Wrestling Championship. 

The top continental event is scheduled to be held at Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) from April 6 to 12, with the Indian wrestlers hoping to perform well in the competition.

Meenakshi Goyat, who has previously competed in 50kg several times and has recently settled in 53kg, shocked everyone by overcoming Antim Panghal, the two-time World Championship bronze medallist, in the final bout of the women's 53 kg trials.

It was a big performance by Meenakshi as she had lost to Antim a couple of times in the trials earlier, but came back strongly this time to beat the top contender in this weight category. It was a well-fought clash with both grapplers trying their best to overcome the other. Antim is a three-time medallist in the Asian Championship, while the 25-year-old Meenakshi is a two-time national champion and trains in Sonepat under former national coach Kuldeep Malik. 

In another interesting competition in the 50kg, Neelam, who defeated Shivani in the previous round, outclassed Priyanshi in the final, winning by technical superiority.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has also picked the squad to participate in the Beach Asian Games, which is scheduled to be held in China.

 The list of wrestlers selected for the 2026 Senior Asian Wrestling Championship: 

Free Style:  

57 Kg.  Ankush   DEL

61 Kg.  Aman    RSPB

65 Kg.  Sujeet      HAR

70 Kg.  Abhimanyou HAR

74 Kg.  Jaideep     HAR

79 Kg.  Sandeep Singh Mann PB

86 Kg.  Mukul Dahiya  DEL

92 Kg.  Punit Kumar   HAR

97 Kg.  Vicky         HAR

125 Kg. Dinesh       HAR

 Greek-Roman Style

55 Kg.  Lalit          SSCB

60 Kg.  Sahil          HAR

63 Kg.  Sunny         HAR

67 Kg.  Sachin Sehrawat  SSCB

72 Kg.  Anil             HAR

77 Kg.  Aman           SSCB

82 Kg.  Prince          HAR

87 Kg.  Sunil Kumar      RSPB

97 Kg.  Nitesh          RSPB

130 Kg. Joginder Rathi    HAR

Women Wrestling

50 Kg.  Neelam          UP

53 Kg.  Meenakshi       HAR

55 Kg.  Hanshika        HAR

57 Kg.  Manisha         HAR

59 Kg.  Neha            HAR

62 Kg.  Mansi          RSPB

65 Kg.  Monika         RAJ

68 Kg.  Mansi Lather     HAR

72 Kg.  Harshita        RSPB

76 Kg.  Kajal           HAR

The following wrestlers have also been selected for participation in the Beach Asian Games scheduled to be held in China:

Free Style

70 Kg.  Siddharth      HAR

80 Kg.  Amit           HAR

90 Kg.  Aryan          HAR

90+ Kg. Jaspooran Singh  HAR

Women Wrestling

50 Kg.  Priyanshi Prajapat  MP

60 Kg.  Pushpa Yadav     UP

70 Kg.  Jaspreet Kaur     PB

70+ Kg. Priya Malik       HAR

--IANS

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