In the race of so many leagues, Zee Kushti Dangal, a wrestling league has also joined the bandwagon. This league, however, is a little different from the rest — it will, for the first time, feature an under-15 category along with the senior competition.
The league, beginning November 3, will feature eight teams and a total of 86 wrestlers.
Each team will have four men and three women wrestlers. Players will be picked from four zones in the country.
Top names unlikely
It is unlikely that any of the top wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat, Sushil Kumar, Divya Kakran and Sandeep Tomar — who were present at the announcement of this league — will participate.
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said,
“We are hopeful that this league will not only provide fans with nail-biting action and entertainment, but also help in identifying newer talent in the world of kushti (wrestling).”
Since Sushil Kumar became a world champion in Moscow in 2010, there has been a definite rise in the sport’s popularity.
Brij Bhushan said, “children as young as eight years old are coming to the stadium to learn wrestling, this shows their enthusiasm to start as early as possible.”
The Kushti Dangal is focussed on giving opportunities to grassroot talent in different cities as it will be a second-string event.
The big names, who have already secured the Olympic quota, will be working towards getting a medal for the country and the rest will try to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Kakran, an Asian games bronze medallist, felt the first thing for a wrestler to do is to work on fitness, and then learn the difference techniques and technicalities of the game. Competitive mindset can be experienced in different tournaments.
Losing her first round in 68 kg in the recent World Championships in Nur-Sultan Kazakhstan left Divya shocked and she felt she needed to improve on many things , “I got intimidated by the reigning Olympic champion Sara Dosho of Japan. On the mat when the competition starts everyone is equal but I fought her with a fear in my mind that she is an Olympic champion. That is where I lost it. I hope to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the Asia qualifiers next year.”