The wrestling qualifiers took place in Sofia, Bulgaria for the Tokyo Olympics starting in July this year. The Olympics is the ultimate goal for any athlete. The Olympics is the pinnacle of sports. Countries worldwide compete in different sports, and athletes have a chance to earn medals for their country and make them proud. Athletes from India have gone to the Olympics on numerous occasions. India got its first gold at the Olympics, when Abhinav Bindra won in 2008 in Beijing. His gold in the 10-meter air rifle event at the 2008 Summer Olympics was also India’s first Olympic gold medal since 1980.

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From every country, athletes have to qualify for the individual events, and only then are they eligible for a place in that year’s competition. This year, sadly, no Indian Greek Roman wrestler will participate in the Olympic Games. This news comes after India’s top grapplers failed to secure a spot in the wrestling qualifiers in Sofia, Bulgaria. These qualifiers took place, and on May 8, it was confirmed that no Greek Roman wrestler from India would be participating in the Tokyo Olympics. While the news is disheartening, other Indian athletes will hopefully give their best to win a medal for India.

This would have been the first time India would have fielded their most significant wrestling contingent with four men’s freestyle wrestlers and as many as women wrestlers. This was only possible if wrestlers from all the categories qualified. Since that didn’t happen, this record will still be at a standstill, and India will be vowing that the current contingent is strong enough to get them some medals at the end. The qualifiers did give the Indian fans at home some good news, as Seema Bisla won gold at the qualifiers, and looked adamant enough to book her ticket to the Olympics later this year. She won in the category of 50 Kgs, had her semi-final victory in the afternoon on Friday, and a few hours later, she went on to seal the deal with a gold in the final.

This year’s Olympics will be a special one, as it has been postponed due to the ongoing fight that the world faces against the Covid-19 pandemic. It is still not confirmed whether fans will be present at the Olympic stadiums where the events will occur, or if it will be the first closed Olympic games. Only time will tell how this year’s Olympics pans out.