The Union Sports Ministry on Tuesday warned of legal action against suspended Wrestling Federation of India president Sanjay Singh for making “absolutely baseless and mischievous” claims with regard to government recognition to WFI and reiterated that any tournament organised by the body shall be treated as “unsanctioned”.
The ministry’s strongly worded comments came in the wake of an interview published in The Indian Express on Tuesday wherein Singh claimed that he is confident that the government will revoke the suspension of the federation, and he will return in his capacity as president “within 10 days”.
Singh’s ludicrous claims notwithstanding, the fact that the mainstream media is giving oxygen to the frontman of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the powerful BJP Member of Parliament and till recently WFI czar, who is facing multiple charges of sexual harrassment brought against him by women wrestlers, is more than ironic.
On Saturday, Singh claimed that around 700 grapplers would participate in the Senior National Championship in Pune from January 29-31, a statement that did not go down well with the ministry, which had suspended the national federation just three days after the formation of its new body for violating its own constitution.
“…Certain claims are being made by you pertaining to the recognition of the currently under-suspension Executive Committee of the WFI and about the competitions being held by you at Pune are being made, which are again absolutely baseless and mischievous,” the ministry said in the letter addressed to Singh.
“The Ministry has already vide its letter dated 7.1.2024, addressed to you and copies of which were endorsed to affiliate units of WFI and State Governments/Union Territories, made this entire issue categorically clear.”
“It is once again informed that any championships or competitions organized by the suspended Executive Committee members of WFI, will be treated as unsanctioned and unrecognized competitions,” the ministry added in the letter.
Sakshi Malik alleges suspended chief organising fake championships
Olympic wrestler Sakshi Malik on Tuesday accused the federation’s suspended chief Sanjay Singh of organising championships and distributing fake certificates.
Appealing to the sports ministry on the matter, Malik questioned how a suspended member of the federation could misuse the WFI’s funds. She also stated that fake certificates would lead sportspersons into trouble.
Malik said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, “The Government of India had suspended the activities of Brij Bhushan’s associate Sanjay Singh, yet Sanjay Singh is running the National Wrestling Championship as per his wish and is distributing fake certificates to the players, which is illegal.”
She added that the national wrestling championship was set to be organised in Jaipur by the Sports Ministry claiming that Singh was organising a fake championship to “assert his dominance”.
“The Wrestling National Championship organized by the Sports Ministry is to be held in Jaipur, but before that, to prove his dominance over wrestling, Sanjay Singh is illegally signing and distributing certificates of different National Championships. How can a suspended person of the organization misuse the money of the organization?”
Malik further stated that such certificates can lead to action being taken against the players. “Tomorrow when the players go to ask for jobs with these certificates, action will be taken against the poor players. Whereas there is no fault of the players.”
She appealed to sports minister Anurag Thakur to look into the issue.
“Action should be taken immediately against Sanjay Singh who is committing such fraud and who is still committing all these frauds despite the ban on his activities. I appeal to the Sports Minister Shri Anurag Thakur ji to look into this issue and save the future of the players from getting spoiled,” Malik said.
In the post, Malik also attached a picture of the alleged fake certificates being distributed to players.
The national body was suspended by the Sports Ministry on December 24, just three days after it held its election for violating its own constitution after it announced to host the 2023 age group nationals in Gonda, UP in the last week of December.
The Sports Ministry had since maintained that the Nationals organised by WFI will not be recognised.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has since set up an ad-hoc committee to look into the day-to-day affairs of WFI on the directive of Sports Ministry.
“In light of the above, you are hereby strongly advised to desist from making any further unsubstantiated claims regarding the status of the Wrestling Federation of India.
“Please be advised that failure to adhere to this caution may compel the Ministry to consider further legal action, including but not limited to legal proceedings for spreading misinformation and unsubstantiated claims and any other relevant charges as per the laws of the country,” the ministry said.
The ministry letter further stated that Singh’s remarks are “causing confusion and anxiety among the athletes and others concerned with wrestling”.
The ad-hoc body, led by Bhupendra Singh Bajwa, had announced a separate senior national championships to be held in Jaipur from February 2-5.
The Sports Ministry suspended the WFI after its newly elected body made a “hasty announcement” of organising the U-15 and U-20 nationals “without giving sufficient notice to wrestlers” to prepare.
The WFI elections were held on December 21 with Brij Bhushan loyalist Singh and his panel sweeping the polls by big margins.
