Protesting wrestlers return to the mat and make the Asian Championships cut.

The trio triumphed, and they hope to put the controversy behind them as they lead India’s charge in Astana. I don’t think it’s going to make a difference or be a distraction, Sonam’s father, Raj, said. Whatever happens in the (Federation), I believe Sonam is professional enough to give her all.
Sonam easily qualified for the Asian Championship in the 62kg category, which hasn’t always been the case given that she has had to compete against one of India’s best, Sakshi, in recent years to qualify for important competitions.
Sakshi lost her grip on the 62kg category after her Rio silver in 2016, losing three back-to-back bouts to Sonam and the Tokyo Olympics spot. However, after Sonam suffered some injury setbacks of her own, Sakshi completed her comeback by finally defeating her in the Commonwealth Games trial last year, before winning gold in Birmingham.
While the pair met during the Jantar Mantar protests last year, their rivalry has been one of the most fierce in national wrestling, and Sonam will now be focused on proving herself in Astana, where getting past wrestlers from Japan – the gold standard in women’s wrestling – will be the most difficult challenge.
Sonam now has experience against some of the Japanese wrestlers in the age groups and senior events, Raj said. In truth, she has proved she is capable of facing anyone on the mat, so the opponent is not what concerns me. I just hope she can stay injury-free for a few years so she can give it her all.
Sonam’s close friend Anshu will be concerned as well. Anshu has struggled with injuries, with her elbow a persistent issue that kept her out of last year’s World Championships, despite displaying some of the fearlessness she has boasted of as a grappler in speaking out against what she considers to be inappropriate behaviour from Sharan.
The 21-year-old went from being one of India’s promising prospects to one of its brightest stars almost overnight, and he already has three Asian Championships medals, including gold in 2021, and a World Championship silver.
Anshu will be looking for a strong 2023 after recovering from her elbow injury woes, a year in which she will compete against wrestlers from Japan, China, and North Korea in the Asian Championships, Asian Games, and World Championships, which is a 2024 Paris Olympics qualifier.
Anshu wrestles in the 57kg weight class now, but the two were fierce rivals at the local level in Haryana’s akharas. As they have represented India internationally, their rivalry has evolved into a friendship. At 20 and 21, the pressures of being a world-class wrestler on both the body and the mind must have been intense.