Hyderabad: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Sunday confirmed that there would be no selection trials for 74kg freestyle category for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers, scheduled to be held next month in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Jitender sealed his spot for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers by reaching the final of Asian Wrestling Championships on Sunday in New Delhi. Later on the day, he settled for silver medal losing to Kazakh defending champion and World Championships bronze medallist Daniyar Kaisano 3-1 in the final.
The qualifiers are scheduled to take place from March 27-29.
Meanwhile, the WFI announced that the team selected for the Rome Ranking Series tournament in January and the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championships would be retained, subject to the athletes' performance.
In January, Jitender had lost in the repechage round and finished 10th in Rome.
“We had decided that a medal in either or both tournaments would be considered a satisfactory performance and we will stick to that. Since Jitender has reached the final in the 74kg, there will be no trials and he will go for the qualifier,” WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh confirmed.
The decision means two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar won't get chance to vie for his fourth Olympic appearance. If Jitender manages to book a Tokyo spot in Bishkek- he would need to reach the final. If he does so it might well be the end of the road for Sushil Kumar.
However, if Jitender fails to reach the final, there would be a second chance for him during the World Olympic qualifiers in April (Sofia).
