Due to the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) inability to hold the required elections, the United World Wrestling (UWW) has temporarily suspended the federation’s membership. The WFI’s elections have been severely delayed due to a number of problems that have arisen. Elections for the federation, which oversees wrestling in India, were planned for June 2023. However, a series of demonstrations by Indian wrestlers as well as legal lawsuits from several state units have caused the polls to be continuously postponed.
The WFI has been suspended by the UWW, the organisation that oversees wrestling, for failing to hold its elections on time. As a result, Indian wrestlers won’t be able to represent their country in the 2019 World Championships. The ad-hoc body, headed by Bhupender Singh Bajwa, did not adhere to the 45-day timeframe for holding the polls, thus the Indian wrestlers will have to compete during the Olympic-qualifying World Championships beginning September 16 as “neutral athletes.”
On August 12, there were to be elections for the 15 places on the WFI’s governing board. Four candidates submitted their nominations for the position of president at the Olympic Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday, including close friend and outgoing Wrestling Federation of India leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s Sanjay Singh from Uttar Pradesh.
From the side of Brij Bhushan, Darshan Lal of the Chandigarh wrestling organisation was proposed as general secretary, and SP Deswal of Uttarakhand as treasurer.
Wrestling Federation of India – suspension
The WFI received a suspension twice, first in January, then again in May—after India’s best wrestlers challenged its operation and claimed that Brij Bhushan, the organization’s then president, had harassed female athletes. WFI is now run on a day-to-day basis by an ad hoc committee that was established thanks to the Indian Olympic Association and is chaired by Bhupender Singh Bajwa.
Particularly, the United World Wrestling, the sport’s top authority, threatened to suspend WFI if the elections were postponed. Both Maharashtra as well as Tripura will be absent from the elections due to the Returning Officer’s determination that both of the former’s groups’ claims are “ineligible,” and Tripura’s continued disaffiliation since 2016.
