Budapest Ranking Series 2023: Schedule, results, India squad and live streaming details

Vinesh Phogat will be marking her return to competitive wrestling after nearly a year.

The Budapest Ranking Series 2023 is all set to be held from July 13 to July 16, 2023, at the BOK Sports Hall in Budapest, Hungary. Also known as Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial, the Budapest Ranking Series will be the fourth and final wrestling ranking series of the year. Close to 600 wrestlers have signed up for the last ranking series as they strive for crucial ranking points. The ranking points play a significant role in setting their seeding at major tournaments, such as the World Championships.

The World Wrestling Championships 2023, which will take place from September 16 to 24, 2023 at the Štark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, will serve as a qualifying event for the Paris Olympics 2024. The prestigious tournament will offer 90 quotas in total to the wrestlers for the 2024 Olympics. With the World Championships just around the corner, competitors are transitioning to Olympic weight classes to qualify for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

In the men's freestyle category, wrestlers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia will compete in all ten weight divisions. Women's wrestling will also witness participation from teams from the USA, China, Canada, Mongolia, Ukraine, France, and Turkiye in all ten classes. Meanwhile, the Greco-Roman style has attracted multiple entries from Kazakhstan, Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary, South Korea, and the USA.

India at Budapest Ranking Series 2023

Vinesh Phogat, the reigning champion of the Asian Games, is preparing to make a comeback in competitive wrestling at the Budapest Ranking Series 2023. This event will be the first for the two-time World Wrestling Championship bronze medalist in more than 10 months. Her last competition was in Serbia at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships, where she clinched the bronze medal. She had previously claimed a gold medal in the 53kg division at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

Vinesh is set to compete in the highly competitive 55kg group in Budapest, where she will face the likes of Jacarra Winchester, the 2019 world champion, and Li Deng of China, the current U-23 Asian champion. Besides Vinesh, three other Indian wrestlers will take part in the Budapest event: Sarita Mor, a bronze medalist from the world championships in the women's 59kg category, Sujeet in the men's 65kg, and Sunil Kumar, a Greco-Roman wrestler in the 87kg division.

India’s Squad for Budapest Ranking Series 2023

Men’s Freestyle

Sujeet (65 kg)

Greco Roman

Sunil Kumar (87 kg),

Women’s Wrestling

Vinesh Phogat (55 kg), Sarita Mor (59 kg)

Where and how to watch live telecast and live streaming of Budapest Ranking Series 2023?

For the Budapest Ranking Series 2023, one can catch the action live through online streaming on the United World Wrestling (UWW)'s official site and on it's YouTube channel. UWW, as the world's wrestling regulatory body, provides this service. However, it's important to note that there won't be any TV broadcast of the tournament for viewers in India.

Budapest Ranking Series 2023 full schedule and timings (in IST)

Day 1 - July 13 (Thursday)

2:00 PM	Men’s freestyle qualification rounds and Repechages: 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg, 97kg, and 125kg
9:30 PM	Men's freestyle finals: 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 92kg, 97kg, and 125kg

Day 2 - July 14 (Friday)

2:00 PM	Men’s freestyle qualification rounds and Repechages: 61kg, 70kg, and 79kg
2:00 PM	Women’s freestyle qualification rounds and Repechages: 50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, and 68kg
9:30 PM	Men’s freestyle finals: 61kg, 70kg, and 79kg
10:30 PM	Women’s freestyle finals: 50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, and 68kg

Day 3 - July 15 (Saturday)

2:00 PM	Women’s freestyle qualification rounds and Repechages: 55kg, 59kg, 65kg, 72kg, and 76kg
2:00 PM	Men’s Greco-Roman qualification rounds and Repechages: 55kg, 60kg, and 63kg
9:30 PM	Women’s freestyle finals: 65kg, 72kg, and 76kg
10:30 PM	Men’s Greco-Roman finals: 55kg, 60kg, and 63kg

Day 4 - July 16 (Sunday)

2:00 PM	Men’s Greco-Roman qualification rounds and Repechages: 67kg, 72kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 97kg, and 130kg
9:30 PM	Men’s Greco-Roman finals: 67kg, 72kg, 77kg, 82kg, 87kg, 97kg, and 130kg