Four to five wrestlers are expected to qualify for the Olympics 2012 in the four qualifying tournaments to be held during February to May, 2012. This was stated by Shri Raj Singh, Secretary General, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), in the first of a series of Review Meetings of the preparation for Olympics, 2012, called by Shri Ajay Maken, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, which started yesterday evening. Shri Maken also enquired about problems faced by WFI in processing of visas of Sportsmen and support staff. The Minister asked the Ministry officials to prepare a list of upcoming qualifying events for this purpose to expedite the Visa clearance in future.  The objective of the Review Meetings with the National Sports Federations planned in the next few days has been to know the status of the calendar of Training & International Exposures of Core Probables in various disciplines in the run-up to the Olympics, 2012, and to identify any financial or administrative problems, if any. 

            The other highlights of the Review Meeting with WFI are as follows:

(a) National Coaching Camps :

So far 05 Coaching Camps have been held for Wrestling. For men, the total duration of Camps has been 208 days so far while the same duration for women has been 223 days. National Camps with specific focus on London, 2012, have been initiated since 04.04.2011 comprising of training in both Free Style and Greco-Roman the details of which are as follows:

The Total Expenditure on Coaching Camps as on December 31^st, 2011 was Rs. 3.57 crore.

(b) International Exposure and Performance Highlights

Indian team participated in 6 International Competitions/Training Exposures during 2011, three of which were International Competitions while other three Training Exposures. The Total Expenditure incurred towards the International Competitions/Training was Rs.1.93 crore. The performance highlights of Indian Wrestling Team in the International events in 2011 are as follows:

(c) Qualifying Events Held and Sportspersons Qualified so far:

So far one Qualifying event has taken place which was 2011 Senior World Free-Style, Greco-Roman and Free-Style (Women) held at Istanbul, Turkey, from 12^th to 18^th September, 2011. 07 Free Style, 07 Greco-Roman and 04 Female Free Style Wrestlers participated. However, none of Wrestlers was able to qualify.

(d) Qualifying Tournaments to be Held:

The following four events are scheduled to be held for securing a berth in London Olympics:

1. Senior Asian Wrestling Championship for Greco Roman/ Free Style and Female Wrestlers at Gumi (Korea) from 16-02-2012 to 19-02-2012.

2. Asian Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament   for Greco Roman/Free Style and Female Wrestlers at Astana (Kazakhstan) from 28-03-2012 to 01-04-2012. (Mandatory but not Qualifying)

3. Olympic Qualifying Tournament- 3^rd Phase for Greco Roman/Free Style and Female Wrestlers at Taiyuan (China) from 25-04-2012 to 29-04-2012

4. Olympic Qualifying Tournament- 4^th Phase for Greco Roman/ free Style and Female Wrestlers at Helsinki (Finland) from 02-05-2012 to 06-05-2012.

(e) Road Map Leading to 2012 Olympics for Qualified Sports persons and their Training Partners:

The Indian Wrestling Team has to undergo following Competitions/ Training Camps till Olympics, 2012:

In the last Olympic Games held at Beijing in 2008, three Wrestlers, namely Yogeshwar Dutt (60 Kg), Sushil Kumar (66 Kg.) and Rajiv Tomar (120Kg.) participated. Sushil Kumar was able to win a Bronze Medal in Beijing four years ago in 66 kg category. Yogeshwar Dutt participated in the 60 Kg. Wt. Category and reached upto Quarter finals, whereas Rajiv Tomar participated in the 120 Kg. Wt. Category and lost in 1^st round.

RM/AJ/RS