The Sports Ministry has lifted the suspension of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). On March 10, the WFI issued an order stating that the newly elected Executive Committee should not handle the Federation’s daily operations until further notice. The government has also handed full control of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to its president, Sanjay Singh. He is known to be a close associate of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the BJP MP who has been accused of sexually harassing female athletes.
Earlier, an ad-hoc committee led by Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, with MM Somaya and Manjusha Kanwar as members, was managing WFI’s affairs.The Ministry revoked the suspension due to governance issues and procedural mistakes by the newly elected body. It was found that former officebearers were still influencing decisions, which violated the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.
As a result, all decisions made by the previous ad-hoc committee, appointed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), have been cancelled. This includes violations of proper decision-making processes and a lack of transparent communication.
After the Sports Code and the International Olympic Committee’s guidelines on protecting athletes from harassment and abuse, as well as ensuring good governance and compliance with the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act, of 2013, necessary actions have been taken.
In December 2023, the Sports Ministry suspended the WFI body led by Sanjay Singh. The Ministry stated that the WFI had completely ignored existing rules and regulations. It criticized the federation for making a rushed announcement about national competitions without following the proper procedures.’
The Sports Ministry, in its letter, stated that after reviewing the findings of the Spot Verification Committee, considering the compliance measures taken by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), and keeping in mind the larger interest of Indian sports and athletes, it has decided to revoke the suspension of WFI.
With this decision, the Ministry has also restored WFI’s recognition as the National Sports Federation (NSF) for wrestling with immediate effect. However, the Federation must operate under specific directives to ensure proper governance and adherence to established rules and regulations.
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