This was a development waiting to be formalised once United World Wrestling on February 13 lifted the suspension of the Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh-controlled Wrestling Federation of India. The Indian Olympic Association on Monday dissolved the ad-hoc committee for wrestling, stating “there is no further need” for it to continue after revocation of the suspension on the national federation, which now gets complete administrative control of the sport.
The IOA said that the decision was also guided by the successful conduct of the selection trials for next month’s Olympic qualifying tournament for which the panel collaborated with the WFI, PTI reports.
The ad-hoc committee was formed in December last year after the Union Sports Ministry suspended the WFI.
IOA statement:
“The decision to dissolve the Adhoc Committee comes in light of the lifting of the ban on the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) by the United World Wrestling (UWW) and the successful completion of Selection Trials by the Adhoc Committee appointed by the IOA as per the directives of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi,” the IOA order, issued on March 10 but made public Monday, states.
Brij Bhushan loyalist and close aide Sanjay Singh, who was elected WFI president last December to “replace” the “outgoing” csar of Indian wrestling, thanked the Indian Olympic Association for giving his elected panel control of the national federation. It bears noting that said WFI panel, made up primarily of supporters of Brij Bhushan, had swept into power with a thumping majority.
“We thank IOA for giving us full-fledged control of the WFI. We will give all facilities to the wresters. We will soon organise a national camp and if the wrestlers want to train abroad we will facilitate that as well. The focus is now on the Olympics. We are hoping that 5-6 wrestlers will qualify,” Singh told PTI.
Following the successful completion of the trials, the reins of the sport have now been formally handed over to WFI despite the continuing suspension (which for all intents and purposes is now meaningless) imposed by the Union Sports Ministry.
A source close to the developments said he was “surprised” by the IOA’s move to dissolve the ad-hoc panel.
“The Sports Ministry had suspended the WFI in December last year and it hasn’t yet issued orders for revoking the suspension. Besides, the case is sub-judice, so it’s surprising why the ad-hoc panel was dissolved by the IOA,” he told the newswire.
Window dressing
The IOA instructed WFI to appoint a “safeguarding committee” to address concerns of sexual harassment and other issues such as adherence to rules.
“…as instructed by the UWW, it is imperative that the WFI appoint a Safeguarding Committee / Officer at the earliest to address the concerns of abuse and harassment and to ensure adherence to all rules, regulations, and guidelines set forth by the UWW and other relevant authorities,” the IOA letter added.
“Furthermore, the WFI is also directed to conduct the elections of the Athletes Commission in a time-bound manner, in accordance with the established procedures and guidelines.
“This step is essential to promote athlete representation and participation in the decision-making processes of the WFI.”
The order also instructed the WFI to “repay the loan” provided by the IOA to the ad-hoc panel for managing wrestling affairs when the national body was under suspension.
