Centre suspends WFI over various violations

Union sports ministry suspends the newly elected WFI executive committee and directs IOA to form an ad-hoc committee to run the federation

- Shantanu Srivastava

The Union sports ministry on Sunday suspended the newly elected executive committee (EC) of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and directed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an ad-hoc committee to run the federation’s operations.

The ministry’s decision came days after Sakshi Malik, India’s only woman to win an Olympic medal in wrestling, announced her retirement from the sport due to the election results and Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri award. But the trigger was WFI president Sanjay Singh announcing the under-15 and under-20 nationals in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda — less than 50km from Brij Bhushan’s constituency of Kaiserganj — on the evening of December 21, the day he became WFI president after beating Anita Sheoran with a 40-7 margin.

Calling it “hasty”, the ministry noted that the prospective participants of the nationals were not notified and the announcement itself was a contravention of the WFI’s constitution.

“Shri Sanjay Kumar Singh, newly elected President of Wrestling Federation of India announced on 21.12.2023, the day he was elected as president, that U-15 and U-20 nationals for wrestling will take place in Nandini Nagar, Gonda (UP) before the end of this year. This announcement is hasty, without giving sufficient notice to wrestlers who are to take part in the said nationals and without following the provisions of the constitution of WFI,” the ministry said.