A new page has been added to the sordid saga that Indian wrestling has become under the watch of BJP strongman Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of multiple charges of sexual harassment.
Brij Bhushan, who has ruled the Wrestling Federation of India for 12 years, and still controls WFI units through proxies as he is not eligible to contest elections after completing three four-year terms, is now facing a rebellion from within the ranks as it were.
A new body named Wrestling India (WI) has been formed in Sirsa, Haryana, Hindustan Times reports. WI claims to have the support of some WFI state factions.
The new body has been registered as a Trust and has declared it aims to “promote this sport (wrestling) in all of India”, HT reports. WI wants to conduct “national level, state level and district level competitions, have the right to work at every state in India and right to select players for international championships”.
WFI has been suspended by the United World Wrestling (UWW), the sport’s globak governing body, due to WFI’s various acts of omission and commission due to which Indian wrestlers will not be able to compete under the national flag in any continental or global events, including the Olympics.
While the multiple legal disputes in several wrestling state bodies has already been reported on, a WI official told the daily that it wants to become a national federation and end the deadlock for the sake of players.
“Currently, wrestlers are suffering because of what is happening in the sport. We want to form a players’ body. We had meetings with wrestlers and well-wishers of the sport from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan and they feel there needs to be a federation that can serve the sportspersons,” Surender Singh, who has been named president of the new body, told HT.
Singh, who says he is a businessman and sports enthusiast, though has not met the top wrestlers who held the protests. “I have pharma and hotel business outside India. I was abroad for four years but am now back in my home in Punjab,” Singh said.
Another WI official said they have been in touch with many WFI state units. “There are disputes in so many states, then there are court cases. We have the support of a few states; we are in talks with many states and districts, and some are in the process of registering with us. We will write to Indian Olympic Association and the government asking them to support us (a tall order seeing as Brij Bhushan has the full support of his party bosses) and send their representatives when we conduct elections,” the official said.
