Divya Kakran follows Vinesh Phogat, withdraws from national camp due to health risks

Tokyo-bound Vinesh Phogat's decision to pull out of of the upcoming national camp failed to impress the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The 25-year-old cited health safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic as the reason to withdraw from the national camp, which starts on September 1. After Phogat, current Asian champion Divya Kakran reportedly became the second female wrestler to withdraw from the camp for the same reason.

According to reports, Kakran has opted out of the national women's wrestling camp for Olympic weight class wrestlers in Lucknow. Kakran, who was recently recommended for the prestigious Arjuna Award, feels a stay in Lucknow is risky due to the rapidly rising coronavirus cases in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

UP has so far reported over 150,000 cases with nearly 50,000 cases still active. In comparison, the total number of COVID cases is closing the 3 million-mark with a death toll of over 53,000.

Also Read | Vinesh Phogat Withdraws From National Camp Citing Health Risk, Decision Rankles WFI

WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar told PTI that the federation was extremely disappointed with Phogat pulling out of the camp. Tomar further confirmed that Phogat's decision will be evaluated by the board before deciding if the exemption will be granted or not. It is expected that Divya Kakran will also need an exemption from WFI to train independently. 

Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar has been granted an exemption to train independently at the Chhatrasal Stadium. Tomar explained the decision stating Sushil will have a world-class training facility at Chhatrasal, including a fully-equipped gym, training mats and most importantly training partners. 

The month-long training camp is scheduled to start from September 1 in Lucknow for women and in Sonepat for men. 15 women wrestlers in several weight categories will be taking part in the training camp including Pooja Dhanda and Olympic Bronze medallist Sakshi Malik. 

Also Read | Khel Ratna Award: Vinesh Phogat, Manika Recommended For India's Highest Sporting Honour

Divya Kakran celebrates Arjuna Award recommendation

Earlier this week, Divya Kakran was recommended to receive the Arjuna Award along with 29 other athletes. Kakran told a news agency recently that her humble beginnings in Gokulpur, East Delhi, inspired her to train extremely hard in order to be one of the best in her sport. Currently employed in Indian Railways, Kakran rose to prominence after winning a bronze medal at the 2017 Asian Wrestling Championships. At this year's event, Kakran dominated the 68kg category, winning all her four fights to bag a gold medal. The gold was India's second in the history of the meet since the introduction of women's wrestling in 1996.

Also Read | Rohit Sharma To Get Khel Ratna Along With Vinesh Phogat, Manika & Thangavellu

Also Read | Vinesh For 'Khel Ratna'; Rahul Aware, Deepak Punia And Sakshi Nominated For Arjuna

(Image Credits: Divya Kakran Instagram Handle)