CHENNAI: Even as wrestler Bajrang Punia intends to train in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan ahead of the Asian Games, his counterpart Vishal Kaliraman's family has called for a 'mahapanchayat' in Jind, Haryana on August 24. The meeting has been called to address the alleged ill-treatment meted out to Vishal, who won the Asian Games selection trials last month but was kept as a standby to Bajrang for the quadrennial event. It is learnt that Kaliraman family has even invited Bajrang for the mahapanchayat.
"We had already organised two khap panchayats — one each in Hansi and Sisai in the past. Now, we are inviting heads of all khaps and sports lovers from across the country for the mahapanchayat scheduled to begin at 11:30 AM at Jaat Dharamshala in Jind," Subhash Kaliraman, Vishal's father, told this daily.
Vishal competes in 65kg, the weight category wherein Bajrang won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The ad-hoc committee running the sport in the court had earlier granted direct entry to Bajrang and Vinesh Phogat (53kg) for the Asian Games. The latter, however, pulled out of the event due to injury paving the way for Antim Panghal, who won the selection trials, to represent the country in the tournament scheduled to begin in Hangzhou, China next month.
"We met Bajrang in Sonepat on Sunday requesting him to either feature in the trials or let Vishal participate in the Asian Games. He, however, asked us to call a meeting of khaps. He told us that he will accept whatever decision khap panchayats arrive at," added Subhash.
Bajrang's plan to train overseas also means he wants to skip selection trials proposed to be held on August 25 and 26 to pick the national team for the World Championships scheduled next month. The Worlds is also a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
However, sources told this daily that Bajrang's proposal to train abroad has yet to be approved by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). The SAI, in fact, has asked him and Deepak Punia (86kg), who wants to train in Russia, to either produce the fitness certificate or attend the Worlds trials.
As per the proposal, Bajrang wants to train in Kyrgyzstan from August 21 to September 28 while Deepak intends to undertake an exposure-cum-training camp in Khasavyurt (Russia) for five weeks (August 23 to September 28) to prepare for the Asian Games. Unlike Bajrang, Deepak had taken part in the Asian Games selection trials and won a place in the national team.
Notably, Bajrang last competed in an international event in September last year when he clinched a bronze medal at the World Championships. He along with other top wrestlers of the country including Vinesh and Sakshi Malik had then staged a protest against the sidelined president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh accusing him of sexual harassment.
