New Delhi, Sept 29: (PTI) The top-five and not top-six wrestlers at the World Championships will earn quota places for the 2024 Paris Games in each of the 18 weight categories, as the world governing body UWW has announced changes to the qualification process for the Olympics.
The 18 quota places taken away from the 2023 World Championships, the first event offering quotas, have been added to the World Qualifiers, which will be the last chance for wrestlers to secure spots for the Paris Games.
United World Wrestling (UWW) President Nenad Lalovic was quoted as saying by the official website of the world governing body on Wednesday that the changes are aimed at creating “further fairness in the distribution between the World Championships and the World Qualifiers.”
The World Championships is set to be held in Russia from September 16-24.
Apart from the 2023 World Championships, the continental qualifiers (Asia, Africa, Pan-America, European) in 2024, and the 2024 World Olympics Qualifiers will also offer quota for the Games.
Earlier, 108 quotas were awarded at the World Championships (six per Olympic weight) but now 90 quota places will be on offer.
From India Bajrang Punia (65kg), Ravi Dahiya (57kg), Deepak Punia (86kg) and Vinesh Phogat (53kg) had qualified for the Tokyo Games through the 2019 World Championships in Nur Sultan while Anshu Malik (57kg), Sonam Malik (62kg) had qualified through the Asian event in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Heavyweight wrestler Sumit Malik (125kg) had qualified through the World Qualifiers in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In Russia next year, all four medallists (gold, silver and two bronze winners) will secure the quotas for their respective nations and the two bronze medal play-offs losers will contest for the fifth spot.
A total of 144 wrestlers will qualify for the Paris Games through the continental qualifying events (Asian, African, Pan-American and European). The top two wrestlers in each Olympic weight class will get one spot each for their NOCs.
The quota winners at the 2023 World Championships will not be eligible to participate in the continental qualifiers unless they participate in a different style.
At the World Olympic Qualifiers, three quotas in each Olympic weight class instead of the two previously will be at stake.
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Not just the gold and silver medal winners will secure quotas but the bronze medal winners will also get a chance to qualify for the Olympics.
The bronze winners will fight it out for the quota in each of the 18 categories.
Unused quotas due to withdrawal, doping offence, or non-participation, will be transferred to the next best wrestler of that weight category of the tournament.
The deadline for the Olympic Games entries will be July 8, 2024. The wrestling competition will be held from August 4-11.
