Indian wrestlers, including Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat, will not be participating in the upcoming Zagreb Open ranking series due to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) failing to secure the necessary clearance from the sports ministry. Despite submitting their entries in advance, the WFI did not receive the required approval, resulting in the last-minute cancellation of the trip.
The Zagreb Open, scheduled to take place from February 5-9 in Croatia, is a crucial ranking event that affects seedings for the senior World Wrestling Championships later this year. Sehrawat, who was set to defend his men’s 57kg title, along with other Indian freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers, will now miss out on valuable ranking points.
The clearance issue stems from the sports ministry’s refusal to recognize the newly elected WFI body, led by president Sanjay Singh, due to the federation’s ongoing suspension since December 2023.
This marks the third major international event that Indian wrestlers have had to forgo, following missed opportunities at tournaments in Belarus and Egypt late last year. There was insufficient time to process approvals, with the Croatian embassy in Delhi set to close for the weekend.
Wrestlers were supposed to fly out on Monday, but without confirmation from the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the trip was officially called off. With Indian wrestlers repeatedly missing key competitions, concerns are growing regarding their preparation and international rankings ahead of major championships.
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