A day after brilliant wrestler Sakshi Malik expressed concerns regarding the upcoming junior national competitions, the government has asked the newly-elected Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) panel to suspend all activities till further notice. The centre also took note of the “hasty” announcement of the junior national contests.
The Sports ministry’s statement upon further elaboration said that the newly elected body “appears to be (in) complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code”. The business of WFI, the ministry said, is run from the premises which is in control of the former office bearers. “Which also is the alleged premises wherein sexual harassment of the players have been alleged and (at) present the court in hearing the matter,” it added.
In response to the Sports Ministry’s move, Sanjay Singh said he had not received any letter yet. “I was on the flight and have not received any letter yet. Let me see the letter first and only then I will comment. I heard that some activity has been stopped,” he told news agency ANI.
The Sports ministry’s strong rebuke comes after Sanjay Singh, an aide of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, succeeded him in the elections for the country’s top wrestling body. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a six-time BJP MP, had to step down after the country’s top wrestlers, including Ms Malikkh, slapped him with accusations of sexually harassing women wrestlers.
The top wrestlers, also including Olympic Games bronze medallist Bajrang Punia and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat, hit the streets in January in the forms of protest to seek action against the BJP MP. They called off the agitation upon assurances from the government. A probe was launched against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The WFI elections on December 21 saw Sanjay Singh post a thumping victory against Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anita Sheoran, who had a backing of the protesting wrestlers.
Expressing disappointment over the election results, Ms Malik announced that she is quitting the sport. During media interaction, the 2016 Olympics bronze medallist put her boots on the table and said they had wanted the wrestling body to get a woman chief. “But that did not happen. We fought, however, if the new president is Brij Bhushan’s aide, his business partner, then I quit wrestling,” she had said.
Visuals of her breaking down while the media interactions continued sparked outrage, with Opposition leaders accusing the government of shielding the ruling party MP despite the serious allegations against him.
The new president Sanjay Singh post his victory was vocal about his closeness to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and trashed the allegations against him. He further stressed on not being a dummy candidate for the BJP MP and slammed the protesting wrestlers for “politics”.
Malik, in a social media post yesterday, said she had quit the sport but was worried about junior women wrestlers. “They are calling me to tell me that the junior nationals on December 28 are being held at Gonda (in Uttar Pradesh). Gonda has the stronghold of Brij Bhushan. Now imagine the kind of atmosphere the junior women wrestlers will be competing in,” she said in a post on X.
The note from the ministry points out that the new announcement to hold junior nationals does not give participants “sufficient notice” and was issued “without following the provisions of the constitution of WFI”.
“The decisions as made by the newly elected executive body of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) demonstrates a blatant disregard for the already established legal and procedural norms, violating both the WFI’s constitutional provisions and the National Sports Development Code,” it said.
The ministry additionally notified that the international wrestling body was yet to issue a communication lifting the suspension on WFI. The national wrestling body was suspended upon its internal polls that were delayed due to the sexual harassment row and court cases.
