New Delhi: Wrestling has been one of those events that bring in multiple medals for India. The sport was one of six events to be featured at the 1930 Commonwealth Games in Hamilton. Wrestling missed the 2006 games but made a comeback in the 2010 Delhi games.
India has sent a strong 11-member contingent which has two-time CWG medallist Vinesh Phogat, Tokyo Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Rio bronze-medallist Sakshi Malik. The sport will be played on August 5 and 6 at Coventry Stadium & Indoor Arena. India won 12 medals in the 2018 Gold Coast games, including 5 golds. Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat will play to defend their CWG titles.
Schedule:
The games will start at 7:30 pm IST on 5 and 6 August. It will be a two-day event and the semi-finals and finals will also be played on these two days only. Bajrang Punia, Deepak Punia and Mohit Dahiya will play their matches on August 5 in the men’s category, while among the women, Anshu Malik, Sakshi Malik and Divya Kakaran will play on the first day.
On August 6, Pooja Gehlot, Vinesh Phogat and Pooja Sihag will wrestle among the women, while among the men, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Naveen and Deepak will play their bouts on day 2.
Contingent:
| Athlete | Event |
| Pooja Gehlot | Women’s 50 kg |
| Vinesh Phogat | Women’s 53 kg |
| Anshu Malik | Women’s 57 kg |
| Sakshi Malik | Women’s 62 kg |
| Divya Kakran | Women’s 68 kg |
| Pooja Sihag | Women’s 76 kg |
| Ravi Kumar Dahiya | Men’s 57 kg |
| Bajrang Punia | Men’s 65 kg |
| Naveen | Men’s 74 kg |
| Deepak Punia | Men’s 86 kg |
| Mohit Grewal | Men’s 125 kg |
Rules:
The duration of a bout will be six minutes, divided into two periods of three minutes each. In the end, if three or more points have been scored, the wrestler with the most points wins the bout. If there is a draw or neither wrestler scores three points, the match goes into overtime.
A pin is where the shoulders are held down to the mat for one second and it wins the match regardless of the score. Another way to win is by gaining a ten points lead at any stage against your opponent, this is called technical superiority.
