iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The United World Wrestling (UWW), the global governing body for wrestling, has suspended the Wrestling Federation of India indefinitely for not conducting its elections on time. The suspension will prevent Indian grapplers from competing at the upcoming World Championships under the Indian flag.
The development means Indian wrestlers will have to compete as ‘neutral athletes’ at the Olympic-qualifying World Championships.
This is a fresh crisis for the Wrestling Federation of India which is battling a sexual harassment scandal. In a letter to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), The United World Wrestling has conveyed its decision to suspend the Wrestling Federation of India for failing to hold fresh elections in the wake of the scandal.
The president of the Wrestling Federation of India Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was charged with sexual harassment and criminal intimidation after several women wrestlers, accompanied by their male counterparts, staged a sit-in protest in April. Singh, a member of parliament from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has denied any wrongdoing and was granted bail last month.
In April, the UWW had warned the WFI of suspension if it did not hold fresh elections within 45 days. The WFI elections were to be held on May 7, but India’s Sports Ministry declared elections null and void and asked the IOA to constitute an ad hoc committee. The IOA had appointed the ad-hoc panel on April 27 and the committee was supposed to hold elections within 45 days.
The national wrestling body wrestling governing body, presently under the management of the ad-hoc committee established by the Indian Olympic Association, was supposed to conduct elections in June. The election has faced multiple delays due to legal challenges posed by different state wrestling associations that have sought the right to participate in the election. The election was scheduled to be held on August 12, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed WFI elections till further orders following a petition from the Haryana Wrestling Association.