Borrowed mats for Asian wrestling

A much awaited lot of synthetic mats will not reach the shores in time for next week’s Asian wrestling championships, leaving the organisers to borrow the ones procured for the National Games in Jharkhand.

The Asian meet, a test event for the Commonwealth Games, is scheduled to be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here from May 12 to 16 in which 21 teams including those from Iran, China and Mongolia are expected to take part.

“The mats were due to reach here this week but the Organising Committee (OC) of the Commonwealth Games decided not to get them by air. They are now coming by ship and we have to make do with those from the Jharkhand Olympic Association,” said GS Mander, President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

“But I don’t think that will effect the meet and we are hopeful of using it to popularise wrestling in this country. The WFI is also going to bid for at least two major championships at the FILA (world body) meet in Moscow this September,” he said, adding that the federation was also hopeful of getting a team sponsor in the coming days.

“If we do get to host either the Olympic Qualifiers (freestyle) or the Junior World Championships next year, it will help establish our credentials as hosts, which in turn will help the sport,” added Mander, who is also a Vice-President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).