Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Poghat, and Sakshi Malik have been at the forefront of the wrestler's protest against WFI Chief Brij Bhushan Singh. There has been a lot of friction between the government, WFI, and the wrestlers in the last few months. Despite all the drama, as per the latest update the grapplers are now set to appear in Asian Games trials which are scheduled later this month.

The grapplers had pulled out of a few international events recently while Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia also opted out of their international training camps in April due to the protest. The names of Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Punia, two-time World Championships bronze medallist Phogat were sent by the ad-hoc committee on behalf of WFI to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and 2016 Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik as part of the initial long list for the Asian Games trials.

“We don't want to give an impression of any bias. Let them compete and earn their place in the national team," a source was quoted talking about the participation. He also added that the new criterion is being worked on because of the unusual circumstances but they want to give them a fair chance. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur also mentioned that they want wrestlers back as he said, “We want the wrestlers to return to the mat and take part in competitions. The trials are very much open to them."

However, the wrestlers have demanded at least a month and a half to prepare for the trials. It will be difficult for them to come back to the mat after such drama in the previous few months. They have not had a proper diet or training for months and their Asian Games chances were deemed as good as over. The Asian Games 2023 are set to take place in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8 with July 15 set as the deadline for sending the final squads set by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Poghat, and Sakshi Malik have been at the forefront of the wrestler's protest against WFI Chief Brij Bhushan Singh. There has been a lot of friction between the government, WFI, and the wrestlers in the last few months. Despite all the drama, as per the latest update the grapplers are now set to appear in Asian Games trials which are scheduled later this month.

The grapplers had pulled out of a few international events recently while Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia also opted out of their international training camps in April due to the protest. The names of Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Punia, two-time World Championships bronze medallist Phogat were sent by the ad-hoc committee on behalf of WFI to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and 2016 Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik as part of the initial long list for the Asian Games trials.

“We don't want to give an impression of any bias. Let them compete and earn their place in the national team," a source was quoted talking about the participation. He also added that the new criterion is being worked on because of the unusual circumstances but they want to give them a fair chance. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur also mentioned that they want wrestlers back as he said, “We want the wrestlers to return to the mat and take part in competitions. The trials are very much open to them."

However, the wrestlers have demanded at least a month and a half to prepare for the trials. It will be difficult for them to come back to the mat after such drama in the previous few months. They have not had a proper diet or training for months and their Asian Games chances were deemed as good as over. The Asian Games 2023 are set to take place in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8 with July 15 set as the deadline for sending the final squads set by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).