Daijiworld Media Network - Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, Dec 11: Less than a month after the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) revoked his one-year suspension, Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat is all set to return to the mat, representing the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) at the Senior National Wrestling Championship, beginning Friday in Ahmedabad.

Aman, who was penalised for being overweight during the 2025 Senior World Championships, will not contest in his signature 57kg category. Instead, he will compete in the 61kg division, a move attributed to the challenges of rapid weight cuts. The three-day event opens with women’s wrestling on Friday, followed by men’s freestyle on Saturday and Greco-Roman bouts on Sunday.

In a notable development, the WFI had initially excluded RSPB from this edition of the nationals after the board skipped the 2024 Bengaluru meet. However, a recent executive committee intervention cleared the participation of Railway wrestlers.

“Frequent weight loss can become problematic, so Aman opted for the 61kg category,” an RSPB official told Daijiworld Media Network. While Aman skipped the Inter-Railway Championships, he secured his nationals berth by winning both bouts during the subsequent trials — which were conducted without any weight relaxation.

RSPB sources added that several wrestlers have shifted to higher weight classes to avoid repeated weight cutting. “We still have a strong contingent with three Olympians, including Aman,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Haryana’s Neha Sangwan, who was serving a two-year suspension for being overweight at the Junior World Championships, also had her ban lifted by the WFI. However, she lost her spot for nationals after being defeated by Manisha in the 57kg category at the Haryana State Championships.

A total of 28 teams, including squads from RSPB and the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), will compete in the senior nationals.