Delhi High Court bench asks WFI to meet Sushil Kumar

“The court will only interfere if there is something malafide or perverse. I don’t see any perversity in the selection of the gentleman who has won the berth. Without him competing on that day you wouldn’t have a berth,” said Justice Manmohan.

The comment by the Judge came after senior advocate Pradeep Dewan, appearing for the WFI, told the court that the list of names of wrestlers selected to represent India at the upcoming Rio Olympics had “been decided and sent” by the federation.

Kumar in his plea has said that the WFI had violated the National Sports Code by failing to carry out selection trials to judge which wrestler would represent the country at the 74 Kg weight men’s freestyle wrestling event at the Olympics.

The WFI, which has said that 2015 World Championship Bronze medalist Narsingh Yadav would represent the country in the 74 kg weight category, also alleged in court that two time Olympic Medal winner Sushil Kumar had “not been training with other athletes” and “has been avoiding competing with Yadav”, even in the Pro Wrestling League matches.

Defending it’s decision on the selection of wrestlers, the WFI also alluded that Yadav was seen to be in better shape than Kumar for the Olympics.

“The world championships are a more difficult ordeal than the Olympics,” argued Dewan, adding that that the Championships involved teams from nearly 170 countries and atleast 45-50 wrestlers competing, while the Olympics had only about 30 national teams and only 16-18 wrestlers.

“Quality of competition is higher in the World Championships,” he added. The lawyer also alleged that Kumar had raised the controversy “for political drama” and was “not here for the good of wrestling.”

The bench however observed that Sushil Kumar “cannot be disrespected” and had “brought a lot of laurels to the country.”

“Why don’t you talk to him and explain that the decision has been taken and why it has been taken?” asked the bench.

The court also told Kumar’s lawyer that the wrestler “should show sportsman spirit.”

“The WFI is saying that the Indian cause will suffer and the training schedule will get messed up. I have to see the larger picture. The Indian cause should not suffer. An individual may suffer but that sufferance has to be borne,” said the court.

Meanwhile, the Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India, who were represented by their lawyers, told the court that they would not “interfere” as the “federations have autonomy”. The IOA has also said that it “could not interfere” in the federation’s decision.

After the lawyers for both sides failed to come to an agreement, the bench has directed that the meeting between the WFI and Kumar would be held by Wednesday, and has issued notice to the Sports Ministry, WFI, Sports Authority of India, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as well as wrestler Narsingh Yadav to respond to Kumar’s plea by May 27.

In a comment outside court, Sushil’s coach and father-in-law Satpal Singh however said that the “good of the country” was if Sushil was to be allowed to compete. “He has defeated Narsingh twice. if you want medals you should send him” he said to the WFI officials.

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