The membership of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has been suspended indefinitely by the United World Wrestling (UWW) because the federation did not hold the required elections.
The WFI has been embroiled in a series of controversies, causing its elections to be postponed significantly. The federation, which is India’s wrestling governing body, was supposed to hold elections in June 2023. However, the elections have been repeatedly postponed due to a series of protests. The protests were by Indian wrestlers and legal petitions from various state units.
UWW, the world governing body for wrestling, has suspended the WFI for not conducting its elections on time. A development which will not allow Indian grapplers to compete at the upcoming World Championships under the Indian flag.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has been suspended by UWW. UVW is the global governing body for wrestling, due to its failure to hold timely elections. This decision will result in Indian wrestlers being unable to participate in the upcoming World Championships representing India.
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Wrestling Federation Elections for Governing Body Postponed as Nominations Are Filed
The elections for 15 positions on the WFI’s governing body were scheduled to be held on August 12. On Monday, four candidates, including outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s close aide Sanjay Singh from Uttar Pradesh, filed nominations for the post of president at the Olympic Bhawan in New Delhi.
Darshan Lal of the Chandigarh wrestling body was nominated for the position of general secretary, while SP Deswal of Uttarakhand was nominated for treasurer from the Brij Bhushan camp.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) faced suspension initially in January and later in May. This action followed protests by India’s prominent wrestlers against the federation’s operations, claiming that its former president, Brij Bhushan, sexually harassed female wrestlers. Presently, the daily operations of WFI are overseen by an ad-hoc committee formed by the Indian Olympic Association. It is led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa.
Notably, the United World Wrestling, the governing body of the sport at the highest level. It warned WFI of suspension if the elections were delayed.
The elections will not include any representatives from Maharashtra and Tripura, as the Returning Officer declared both factions from these regions as “not eligible”. Additionally, Tripura has remained without affiliation since 2016.
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