The reigning U23 Asian champion Sujeet Kalkal on Wednesday slammed the IOA ad-hoc committee for granting direct entry to Bajrang Punia for the Asian Games, saying it was unfair on the next generation wrestlers who aspire to become Olympic champions.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) ad-hoc panel, led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa, on Tuesday exempted Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang (65kg freestyle) Vinesh Phogat (53kg) from the Asian Games trials on July 22-23 here.
Kalkal, the U20 world championship bronze medallist, said that there are at least 5-6 wrestlers in the 65kg freestyle category who are capable of beating Bajrang. "I had wrestled with Bajrang a year back during the (Birmingham) Commonwealth Games trials, which was very close.
During the trials, Bajrang was handed a direct semifinals entry and we had to contest all the bouts," said Kalkal, the reigning senior national champion and last year's Junior Asian gold medallist.