Gonda, March 13
Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and Bharatiye Janta Party (BJP) leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh shared his thoughts following the revocation of the ban on WFI by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Tuesday lifted the suspension on the Wrestling Federation of India, restoring its recognition as a National Sports Federation (NSF) for the sport.
The Sports Ministry had suspended the WFI body after the newly elected WFI president, Sanjay Singh, announced the hosting of the U-15 and U-20 nationals at Nandini Nagar in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh in December 2023.
"WFI and other sports unions are independent unions. Some issues came up, so the government banned it. On the direction of the Supreme Court, an election (for the presidential post) was held, and Sanjay Singh was elected. Later, the ban was imposed again. The govt has discussed the issue with coaches, players, people related to the sports and lawyers, and the ban has now been removed as it was harming the sport... I think 99.9% of people are happy with the decision. I hope that the current federation will work honestly and will bring wrestling back on track. The camps were closed for 26 months..." Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said while speaking to ANI.
Starting from 2023, several ace wrestlers like Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia spearheaded protests against WFI and its former president Brij Bhushan Singh, alleging him of sexual assault.
In August 2023, United World Wrestling (UWW) put a ban on WFI as it failed to organise elections within a stipulated time following accusations of sexual harassment and protests against ex-president Brij Bhushan Singh by top wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. An ad hoc committee by the International Olympic Association (IOA) was put in place.
In late December 2023, elections were held, and Sanjay Singh was elected as the new president of WFI. However, the wrestlers protested against his election, saying he was an aide of ex-president Brij Bhushan. Days after the elections, the Ministry suspended the federation again, a decision that came after Sanjay had announced the hosting of the U-15 and U-20 nationals at Nandini Nagar in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh by the end of the year. An ad-hoc committee of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was put in place once again to handle the day-to-day affairs of the federation.
- ANI