3 min readSep 27, 2024 11:55 AM IST
First published on: Sep 27, 2024 at 12:07 AM IST
Still fighting for recognition from the sports ministry, the Sanjay Singh-led Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has excluded the medallists from the National Championships held in Jaipur earlier this year – which was backed by the government – from taking part in their selection trials for next month’s World Championships.
In contrast, those who won medals at the WFI-conducted Nationals in Pune, a competition not recognised by the government, have been given the green signal to take part in the trials, which will be held on the outskirts of Delhi on October 7.
The World Championship will be held in Tirana, Albania, from October 28 to 31 in non-Olympic weight categories. However, nearly eight months after the two Nationals were held, the country’s elite wrestlers have inadvertently become a part of a tug-of-war between those jostling to control the sport.
“For no fault of theirs, the wrestlers have been made to pay a price,” a coach said. “The two National Championships were held because of a peculiar situation the sport found itself in. After all these months, to take action against one set of wrestlers is unfortunate.”
The Jaipur National Championships were organised in February by the Railway Sports Promotion Board and had the blessings of the government. Since the suspended WFI held the event in Pune around the same time, the sports ministry had said it would not recognise the competition.
In a circular dated September 24, the WFI – headed by Sanjay Singh, a loyalist of erstwhile president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who faces sexual harassment charges – outlined the eligibility criteria for the wrestlers to compete in the selection trials.
‘All medal winners of the 2023 Senior National Wrestling Championship held at Pune’, gold and silver medallists of the 2024 Senior Federation Cup, second-placed wrestlers from the U-23 selection trials to be held on October 6, and all wrestlers selected for the 2024 Asian Championship and Asian Olympic Qualifying tournament would be eligible for the World Championship trials.’
According to national coaches, the WFI’s decision will result in several top-level wrestlers, who won medals at the Jaipur Nationals but weren’t a part of the team for the continental competitions, being unable to compete in the trials.
The government is yet to formally recognise the Sanjay Singh-led committee that is running the WFI. After he won the election, the government set aside the results owing to Sanjay’s ‘proximity’ to Brij Bhushan.
In the aftermath, the Indian Olympic Association formed an ad-hoc committee to govern the sport. The two nationals were an outcome of this move – the WFI conducted its championship in Pune while the ad-hoc committee held a tournament in Jaipur.
Most of India’s elite wrestlers, who needed the Sports Authority of India’s funding for their Olympic preparation and certificates for government jobs, featured in the Jaipur Nationals. Apart from them, hundreds of wrestlers from Services, Railways and states like Haryana, Punjab, Kerala and Odisha took part in the competition.
Owing to factionalism at the state level, some wrestlers from these states also took part in the WFI-held national championships.
It must be noted that medallists from both, the Jaipur and Pune nationals, were allowed to take part in the selection trials for the Olympic qualifying tournaments earlier this year.
Wrestlers train on the eve of the 2023 Senior National Wrestling Championships at the railway stadium in Jaipur. (Express file image)
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