The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has temporarily suspended the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) due to violations of the constitution and procedural irregularities by the newly elected body, pending further notice.
The suspension comes in the wake of the sudden declaration of the U-15 and U-20 national championships by the recently appointed president, Sanjay Kumar Singh, and his team.
The choice to host the championships in Nandini Nagar, Gonda (UP), before the year’s end raised concerns, as it allegedly lacked adequate notice to wrestlers and bypassed the constitutional provisions of the WFI.
The ministry’s choice to halt all activities of the WFI follows the elections on December 21, where the new leadership, aligned with former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, achieved notable victories. Nonetheless, the Sports Ministry claims that the new body did not adhere to the constitution, resulting in the suspension.
The Sports Ministry alleges that the recent EC meeting did not comply with the stipulated requirements of the WFI constitution, which mandates a minimum notice period of 15 clear days for an Executive Committee meeting and requires a quorum of 1/3rd of representatives.
Additionally, the absence of the WFI secretary general, who is responsible for conducting the general business of the federation, from the meeting has raised doubts about the legitimacy of the decisions taken. The ministry has also expressed apprehensions regarding the federation’s operations being conducted from premises associated with former office bearers, which is reportedly connected to ongoing legal cases related to allegations of sexual harassment against players.
The ministry underscored the importance of the new body adhering to the Sports Code and following proper procedures. Furthermore, the official communication from the United World Wrestling (UWW), the international governing body for wrestling, about the lifting of the suspension of WFI is still pending.
BREAKING: Sports Ministry suspends newly formed Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) body led by Sanjay Singh. “Complete disregard to sports code”. pic.twitter.com/ZbHFrLQSTj
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) December 24, 2023
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