Narsingh Yadav returns to national wrestling as Olympics hopeful after 4-year doping ban

A day before his match at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Narsingh Yadav was banned. One of the most anticipate wrestlers in India at the time, Yadav will be returning to the mat after having served his four-year-long doping ban. The 31-year-old wrestler is expected to join the Indian wrestling national camp from next month. 

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Narsingh Yadav to make wrestling return as Olympics-hopeful by joining national wrestling camp next month

Competing in the 74 kg freestyle category, the 2010 Commonwealth Games champion will compete along with India's only two-time Olympic medalist – Sushil Kumar. However, Sushil Kumar has asked for permission from the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to train alone at the Chhatrasal Stadium in New Delhi. Other players are expected to reach the camp in Sonepat on September 1.

In a statement to Hindustan Times, a senior WFI official spoke about Yadav being called for the camp. They added that Kumar is training alone and will continue the arrangement. "He will be called whenever the selection trial is conducted,” they added. Apart from Yadav and Kumar, Jitender Kumar, Praveen Rana, Amit Dhankar and upcoming star Gaurav Baliyan will also compete in the 74 Kg category. 

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Narsingh Yadav return: Narsingh Yadav doping ban and request to start training for Tokyo Olympics

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo Olympics were postponed to 2021, which gave Narsingh Yadav a chance to compete for the Olympics. If the Olympics took place this year, Yadav would have taken another four years to participate. While Yadav's doping results were later found to be false, the Mumbai-based wrestler was banned for failing the test. Since the ban has now ended, Yadav could face Kumar during the Olympic qualifiers' trials.

While talking to reporters, WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar stated that Yadav is allowed to train after being cleared by the committee. Tomar said that with his ban expired in July, Yadav all the rights to train for the Olympics as well. Sports Authority of India (SAI) had recently announced the training camps for elite wrestlers camps at Sonepat (men) and Lucknow (women) from September 1 to 30. This camp will have athletes who have already qualified for or could qualify, for the Tokyo Olympics next year.

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Sushil Kumar is facing a rough patch since his last few ouitings, which includes his opening-round exit from the 2019 World Wrestling Championships. He also had to opt out of the triials for the Indian team for Asian Championships because of his shoulder injury. In his place, Jitender Kumar represented and won a silver for India at the 2019 Asian meet in New Delhi, which made him become a part of the Indian team fro the Asian Olympic Qualifiers. As the WFI will conduct the trials for the Tokyo Olympics, Kumar has another chance to compete. 

Also read | National wrestling camp for Tokyo Olympics to begin in Sonepat and Lucknow from Sept 1

(Image credits: Narsingh Yadav Facebook)