Wrestler Sonam Malik out of WRS due to head injury

The 19-year old national champion in 62 kg received four to five stitches on her head while she was training with 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik during the national camp in Lucknow last week

New Delhi:Haryana’s teenage wrestler Sonam Malik has pulled out of the upcoming World Ranking Series (WRS) due to a minor head injury sustained in a national camp, said her personal coach Ajmer Singh on Wednesday.

The 19-year old national champion in 62 kg received four to five stitches on her head while she was training with 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik during the national camp in Lucknow last week, said Ajmer. Sonam was preparing for the WRS starting Thursday.

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“Since Sonam was still feeling pain in the head her parents decided not to send her for the Ranking Series, we informed the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) about her health. The WFI has agreed to drop her from the international exposure tour. Sonam has taken a break from training for a few days to recover,” Sonam’s coach told IANS.

Sonam had defeated Sakshi in the last month’s national championship held at Agra. “Sonam’s next focus will be Asian Olympic qualifier in April. We hope she would be fine by next week and resume training,” said Singh.

The WFI had selected both Sonam and Sakshi for the Italy tour.

The national team of 34 players including star wrestler Bajrang Punia (65 kg) and Vinesh Phogat (53 kg) left for the Italian competition on Wednesday morning.

Ravi Dahiya (57 kg) and Deepak Punia (86 kg) too have pulled out of the competition. Dahiya is on the injured list while Deepak is unwell.