CHENNAI: He might have been derecognised by the sports ministry less than 72 hours after being elected Wrestling Federation of India president but Sanjay Singh is in no mood to relent. Instead, he has decided to take the fight back to the sports ministry.
Considered a close associate of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Sanjay has written to the ministry questioning the move to abstain the newly-elected executive committee from functioning and sought time to present his side. He also flayed the constitution of a three-member ad-hoc committee by the Indian Olympic Association.
"I don't accept the ad-hoc panel. How can they do it?" Sanjay told this daily hours after the panel was formed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). He defeated rival Anita Sheoran, a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist 40-7 in the election for the top post. His panel won 13 out of 15 posts but the sports ministry on Sunday abstained the panel from administering and managing the day-to-day activities of the federation with immediate effect until further orders.
"WFI is an autonomous body, how can the ministry suspend it? I am an elected president, not the nominated one. I am waiting for the ministry's reply to my letter which I sent to it. I sought time to meet and explain my side. If the ministry had any objections, it should have issued a show-cause notice and given us some time to clarify. Unfortunately, that didn't happen," he added.
Sanjay said he expects the ministry to understand his grievances and affirmed to take legal recourse if that doesn't happen. "The IOA cannot form the committee after elections. The ministry has to understand our position. If it doesn't then we will consult our lawyers and even move the court if need arise." Asiad participants for Ranking Series? The last day to send entries for the first Ranking Series, the Zagreb Open, of the year is Thursday. With no selection trials and national camps due to the ongoing issues, chances are high that wrestlers who competed at the Asian Games could be sent for the event.
A total of 18 wrestlers in six Olympic weight categories in each style (men's freestyle and Greco-Roman, women's wrestling) represented the country in Hangzhou including Bajrang Punia, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, who spearheaded the protest against Brij Bhushan.
If the entries are sent, it would be interesting to see which name finds a place in the 65kg weight category as Bajrang was given direct entry for the continental showpiece event, the trials for which were won by Vishal Kaliraman. A day after Sanjay and his panel won the elections, Bajrang returned his Padma Shri Award. The event is scheduled from January 10 to 14 in Zagreb, Croatia.
