OCA Grants IOA Additional One Week For Sending Wrestlers' Names For Asian Games

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Saturday extended the deadline till July 22 for sending Indian wrestlers' entries to the Asian Games organisers even as the IOA had sought time till August 5. The OCA has, otherwise, set July 15 as deadline for all participating nations to send athletes' entries by names for the Games, set to begin in the Chinese city of Hangzhou on September 23. The one-week extension was granted by the OCA under "exceptional circumstances" after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) top brass including President PT Usha, Senior Vice President Ajay Patel and Joint Secretary Kalyan Chaubey attended the General Assembly of the OCA in Bangkok.

"The IOA officials tried their best but the OCA gave a week's extension and that too they (OCA) said was being granted under exceptional circumstances. So, this is the final and we have to send names of our wrestlers by July 22," a source close to IOA ad-hoc committee told PTI.

Usha had written to the OCA on Thursday to extend the deadline so that it could provide the six protesting wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, enough time to prepare for the Asian Games and World Championship trails.

Before, Usha's fresh request, the IOA had asked OCA to allow it to hold trials by August 10.

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