WFI: Sports Ministry asks IOA to form ad-hoc panel after suspending Sanjay Singh-led Wrestling Federation of India

Shortly after suspending the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Sunday, the Sports Ministry has instructed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an ad-hoc panel to run the day-to-day affairs at the federation.

The Anurag Thakur-led Sports Ministry had on Sunday suspended the WFI until further notice after the Sanjay Singh-led faction's victory in the elections that took place on Thursday, 21 December. Singh is seen as a close ally of controversial former WFI president and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been charged with sexual harassing multiple female wrestlers.

The Ministry, however, cited the Singh-led federation’s “hasty announcement” of organising U-15 and U-20 nationals “without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers” as the reason behind its suspension.

“This requires for immediate and stringent corrective measures to uphold the principles of good governance in sports organizations, and thus, now it becomes incumbent on part of the IOA to to make suitable arrangements for the interim for managing the affairs of WFI so that sportspersons of wrestling discipline do not suffer in any manner and the principle of good governance in the sports body do not get jeopardised,” Tarun Pareek, Under Secretary to the Government of India, wrote in a letter addressed to the IOA President and former Olympian PT Usha.

“In view of the above, it is requested that an Ad-Hoc Committee may be constituted by the IOA to manage and control the affairs of WFI, as per the defined role of the NSFs (national sports federations) in the National Sports Development Code of India-2011, with immediate effect, until further orders,” Pareek further wrote in the letter.

Read | I don't have anything to do with wrestling: Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

The Centre’s latest order marks the WFI’s return to being run by an ad-hoc committee, which had been the case ever since the Brij Bhushan-led council had been dissolved in April until the elections that took place on Thursday. Singh, who had previously served as vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association, had defeated rival and former wrestler Anita Sheoran 40 votes to 7 in the election while his camp ended up winning 13 out of 15 posts that were contested in the elections.

Singh would then celebrate the victory at Brij Bhushan’s residence in New Delhi, with the latter being garlanded by his supporters even though he claimed he had nothing to do with the elections. Singh’s victory, however, has since been met with widespread outrage, especially from some of the country’s top-wrestlers.

While Sakshi Malik, who won bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympics, has since announced her retirement the same day the results were announced, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia decided to return his Padma Shri award on Saturday