Bajrang Punia opts out of Zagreb Open, ad-hoc panel picks 13-member wrestling team

Bajrang Punia, Antim Panghal, and three others opted out of the upcoming Zagreb Open as the ad hoc panel announced a 13-member team on Tuesday, leaving India unrepresented in five categories in Croatia.

Senior Worlds bronze medallist Panghal has withdrawn because she wishes to attend the national sports award ceremony where she will be presented with the prestigious Arjuna award, and Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang, who has returned empty-handed from the Asian Games, has also withdrawn.

Bajrang, one of the prominent faces of the wrestlers' protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, was the only one who did not compete in the men's freestyle, as the ad hoc panel chose Aman Sehrawat



(57kg), Yash (74kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Vicky (97kg), and Sumit Malik (125kg), all of whom competed at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

"We had sought the consent of the wrestlers who were part of the Asian Games squad and only 13 gave their consent while five others didn't," Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, the head of the ad-hoc panel, told PTI.

When asked about his absence, Bajrang stated that he had not yet begun mat training and that joining the Indian team would be futile.

"I had recently undergone a thumb surgery. I have not yet started mat training. There is no point going to a tournament without proper practice. I have resumed fitness training though," Bajrang told PTI.