Tuesday, June 01, 2021

Road To Tokyo: Episode 19

We are now less than two months from the Games. And yet the question remains – Will the Games happen at all? Japanese public opinion is increasingly against the Games happening. Similar to the general feeling in India about holding the IPL in the midst of pandemic. And yet, the qualifications and the preparations, while disrupted, continue. 

While the suspense remains, there have been further progress on the field with a few more sportspersons qualifying for the Games. 

New Qualifiers 
  • Wrestling: At the final qualifying event, Sumit Malik earned a Quota place in the 125 KG Freestyle category while Seema Bisla earned a Quota place in the 50 KG Women’s category. Thus India have qualified 8 wrestlers for the Games. However, there were no qualifiers in the Greco-Roman category. 
  • Rowing: Arjun Lal & Arvind Singh qualified via the Asian Qualification Regatta in the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls. 
  • Gymnastics: Pranati Nayak has qualified for the Games through the Asian Continental Qouta 
  • Badminton: The final three qualification events got cancelled. And based on the rankings, PV Sindhu & B Sai Praneeth qualified in the Singles category, while the duo of Chirag Shetty & Satwik Rankireddy qualified in the Doubles. 
  • Judo: Sushila Devi has earned a Quota place in the 48 KG Women’s event 
Other Updates 
  • Shooting: The squad is now based in Croatia for training till the Games 
  • Wrestling: The squad will move to Poland for training and practice events. 
  • Boxing: At the Asian Championships, in a depleted field the Indian contingent hauled in 15 medals. This was the first proper event for many since the pandemic began. 
Covid-19 impact 
  • Badminton: Malaysian Open & Singapore Open were cancelled thus ending the qualifying journey. 
  • Rowing: Due to Covid travel restrictions, India did not enter the Final World Qualification Regatta. 
Indian Contingent 
Total Count – Sports - 14, Events – 57, Entries - 79, Participants – 100 

Links: Road To Tokyo: Episode 18 

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