Antim, Aman seeded for Olympics in wrestling: What does it mean? Why Vinesh Phogat is not seeded?

Wrestlers Aman Sehrawat and Antim Panghal have been seeded at the Paris Olympics 2024. The seeds were announce by United World Wrestling (UWW) on Friday. Sehrawat is seeded sixth in the men’s 57kg freestyle while Panghal is seeded fourth in the women’s 53kg - while Vinesh Phogat has gone unseeded.

For the very first time, the Olympic Games are introducing seeding for the top eight wrestlers in each weight category. Wrestlers who participated in the 2023 World Championships, 2024 Continental Championships, 2024 Zagreb Open Ranking Series, and the 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series have earned points towards their seeding at the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.

According to the UWW Rules, aside from the seeded eight wrestlers, the remaining eight wrestlers completing the 16-athlete bracket will be selected through a random draw the day before each style commences in Paris.

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Here is the breakdown of how the bracket will be organised:

- The top half will include the No. 1, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 8 seeded wrestlers.

- The bottom half will include the No. 2, No. 3, No. 6, and No. 7 seeded wrestlers.

If the seeded wrestlers progress as expected until the finals, the bracket will unfold as follows:

Quarterfinals:
- Top half: No. 1 vs. No. 8; No. 4 vs. No. 5
- Bottom half: No. 2 vs. No. 7; No. 3 vs. No. 6

Semifinals:
- Top half: No. 1 vs. No. 4
- Bottom half: No. 2 vs. No. 3

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Finals:
- No. 1 vs. No. 2

What does it mean for Sehrawat and Panghal?

By being seeded sixth, Sehrawat will find himself in the bottom half of the draw alongside Rei Higuchi, Arsen Harutyunyan, Wanhao Zou. Aman went down to Higuchi, with the duo on collision course in the semi-final, at the Hungary Ranking Series. The Indian wrestler could face Harutyunyan in the quarter-final.

Antim, the fourth seed and set to be placed in the top half, has a favorable path to the medal rounds as she avoids competing against notable wrestlers like two-time world champion Akari Fujinami, two-time European champion Emma Malmgren, and Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Qianyu Pang.

She will face the likes of Ecuador’s Lucia Yepez, the top seed at the Paris Olympics, bronze medallist at the World championships, and former World U23 champion; Greek Maria Prevolaraki who is a three-time World bronze medallist and three-time Olympian and Romania’s Andreea Ana, a three-time European champion and former World U23 winner.

Panghal has yet to compete against any of these wrestlers. It is likely that she will come up against Prevolaraki in the last-eight and Yepez in the semifinals, both of whom won bronze medals at the 2023 World Championships.

Why is Vinesh Phogat not seeded at Paris Olympics?

Six Indian wrestlers - Sehrawat, Panghal, Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg) and Reetika Hooda (76kg) - have qualified for the Paris Olympics and only two have been seeded.

As mentioned above, only wrestlers who participated in the 2023 World Championships, 2024 Continental Championships, 2024 Zagreb Open Ranking Series, and the 2024 Hungarian Ranking Series have earned points.

Aman collected 26,400 points and Panghal pocketed 37,400 points and were among the top-eight to be seeded. Sehrawat’s best result came at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series where he took the gold medal.

Panghal, meanwhile, produced her best showing at Hungary Ranking Series with a silver medal but in terms of prestige, she won a bronze at the World Championships to qualify for the Olympics.