Aman Sehrawat, Yui Susaki top base price list ahead of PWL auction

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat has entered the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) auction as the costliest domestic name on the list with a base price of Rs 18 lakh, while

two-time Olympic medallist Yui Susaki and formidable Yusneylis Guzman Lopez have also placed themselves in the same bracket.

The PWL auction is scheduled for January 3 while the League will be held from January 15 to February 1.

The six franchises set to compete in the upcoming season are Haryana Thunders, Tigers of Mumbai Dangals, Punjab Royals, Maharashtra Kesari, Delhi Dangal Warriors, and UP Dominators.

The 21-year-old Sehrawat, whose ban for lack of weight management at the Worlds was recently lifted by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), has been one of India’s standout performers in recent seasons, winning medals at the Olympic Games, and Asian Games.

World and Commonwealth Games medallist Deepak Punia has been listed at Rs 10 lakh. Joining him in the same bracket is Naveen, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist.

Surprisingly, Sujeet Kalkal, who is one of the best Indian wrestlers of today, has set his base price at just Rs 7 lakh.

The foreign men’s category is headlined by a strong European and Eurasian presence.

Reigning world champions and Olympic medallists dominate the higher slabs, with Russia’s Abasgadzhi Magomedov, a former world and European champion, placed at a base price of Rs 10 lakh Joining him in the same bracket are Armenia’s Arman Andreasyan, a world championship medallist, and Hungary’s Iszmail Muszukajev, the 2023 world champion who also finished fifth at the Paris Olympics Armenia’s Arsen Harutyunyan, a multiple-time world and European medallist and Olympian, has also been listed among the premium overseas wrestlers, while Russia’s Usmanov Akhmed, a reigning world and European champion, is another marquee name expected to attract strong bidding interest. Both have a base price of Rs 10 lakh.

In women’s wrestling, Antim Panghal, a world championship medallist and one of India’s most consistent international performers, has been assigned a base price of Rs 10 lakh, the highest among Indian women wrestlers.

Anshu Malik, who has been struggling for form and a comeback, has also bracketed herself in the Rs 10 lakh category.

National Games champion Swati Shinde and former world championship silver medallist Pooja Gahlot are also among the top Indian names expected to draw strong interest.

Big foreign women wrestlers ================== Olympic champions and multiple-time world champions headline the list. Japan’s Yui, a Tokyo Olympics gold medallist and Paris Games bronze winner, has been listed at a base price of Rs 18 lakh, the joint-highest among women wrestlers.

She is joined at the same bracket by Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, the Paris Olympics silver medallist, reflecting the premium placed on proven Olympic pedigree.

Veteran Ukrainian campaigner Oksana Livach and Nigeria’s rising star Christinah Tolulope Ogunsanya have been placed in the Rs 10 lakh category, alongside a host of consistent world and continental medallists.

Azerbaijan’s Elnura Mammadova, European and U23 world medallist, is also among the high-value overseas names heading into the auction.

In the heavier divisions, Bulgaria’s former world champion Bilyana Dudova, Ukraine’s Olympic silver medallist Iryna Koliadenko, and Nigeria’s multiple-time African champion Odunayo Folasade are all listed at Rs 10 lakh. PTI APS APS KHS KHS