Wrestling national camp to be held from September 1 to 30

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The national camp for wrestlers will be held in September, the Sports Authority of India announced on Saturday. The camp is scheduled to be held from September 1 to 30 with the men training at the SAI centre in Sonepat and the women in Lucknow.

"A total of 26 wrestlers in eight weight categories - 5 in freestyle (57, 65, 74, 86, 125kgs) and 3 in Greco-Roman (60, 77, 87kgs), as well as six support staff will participate in the men's wrestling camp at Sonepat, while a total of 15 wrestlers in five categories (50, 53, 57, 62, 68kgs) and four support staff will participate in the women's wrestling camp at Lucknow," said SAI.

"Wrestlers who will be part of camps include Ravi Kumar, Bajrang Punia, Narsingh Yadav, Deepak Punia, Sumit, Gyanender, Sajan, Sunil Kumar, Nirmala Devi, Vinesh Phogat, Pooja Dhanda, Sakshi Malik and Divya Kakran."

Among the wrestlers named by SAI, many have been training in their own capacities. Deepak Punia, Ravi Kumar and Sumit have been training at Chhatrasal stadium in the national capital while Bajrang Punia has been training at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) in Bellary under his coach Shako Bentinidis.

"The athletes, coaches and support staff joining SAI Sonepat and SAI Lucknow will be given SAI's mandatory COVID-19 test upon arrival at the camp and resume training after a 14-day quarantine. The COVID-19 guidelines of the government of India, state government and the SAI SOP will be adhered to strictly," SAI further said.

Deepak, Ravi and Bajrang are the male wrestlers who have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics while Vinesh is the only female wrestler to have sealed qualification.