The world body says it is still gathering feedback from representatives to determine if the conduct of the election was valid and well organised

CHENNAI: Much water has flown under the bridge ever since the election to the executive committee of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) was held almost two weeks ago. Only three days later on December 24, the newly-elected WFI was abstained from functioning by the sports ministry. The ministry also directed the Indian Olympic Association to form an ad-hoc committee to run the sport in the country.

In the meantime, the only woman wrestler from the country to have won an Olympic medal, Sakshi Malik, announced her retirement from the sport while Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia and World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat returned their national sports awards protesting Sanjay Singh's elevation as the WFI president. Yet another protest hit the already troubled Indian wrestling on Wednesday when hundreds of wrestlers gathered at Jantar Mantar. Protesting the loss of one crucial year of their careers, these agitating wrestlers accused the trio of Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh for the situation.

Amid all the upheaval, the world governing body, United World Wrestling (UWW), which suspended the WFI for not conducting elections last year, maintained a stoic silence. However, the UWW on Wednesday told this Daily that it is still gathering feedback from representatives to determine if the conduct of the election was valid and well-organised. The world body also confirmed that it has not received any official confirmation from the IOA and sports ministry regarding the elections. "Before we can lift the suspension, we need to receive the official information from the national federation and the confirmation by the NOC and Ministry of Sports," the UWW replied to a query emailed by this daily.

It should be noted here that the elections were conducted by the returning officer, MM Kumar, a retired chief justice of the J&K High Court in the presence of observers from the IOA and UWW. "As far as the election was concerned, I can say that it was held fairly and transparently. I also gave away the certificates to all the winning candidates after the election. What happened after that is wide open in public," the returning officer told this daily. The IOA, apparently, had intimated the UWW about the formation of the ad hoc panel, who in turn sent entries for the ranking series in Zagreb.  

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The protest and ad-hoc body's reaction

As hundreds of upcoming wrestlers reached Jantar Mantar in the morning, the ad-hoc body led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa came up with an assurance that it is planning to organise the national championship for the U-15 and U-20 wrestlers within the next six weeks at LNIPE, Gwalior. It also claimed that the panel had already announced to hold the senior national championship next month in Jaipur. Highlighting the initiatives taken by it, the panel said it has selected a 13-member wrestling team for the Zagreb Open, the first Ranking Series of the year and also announced the commencement of the national camp to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The agitating wrestlers including medallists from international tournaments, however, threatened to return awards if the suspension of the WFI is not lifted within 10 days. Sources claimed that wrestlers from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra reached the national capital on Wednesday and they will stay put in the city unless their demands are met.

ALSO READ | Now, junior wrestlers plan protest at Jantar Mantar Sakshi addresses media

Amid the fresh protest, Sakshi addressed the media and claimed the outcry was former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's propaganda. "I have given 18-20 years to the sport. Only I know what I have gone through. A lot of wrong things are being said on social media. I have come to know about this protest from you (media). This is Brij Bhushan's propaganda. These are all his men who are protesting at Jantar Mantar," Sakshi told journalists when her reaction was sought on junior wrestlers' protest. 

Given the protest and warning issued by the wrestlers, it is learnt that the ad-hoc panel has called a meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue. All three members of the panel — Bajwa, hockey Olympian MM Somaya and former international shuttler Manjusha Kanwar — are expected to meet and devise ways to prevent the issue from escalating further.