The administrative chaos in the Wrestling Federation of India in the aftermath of the allegations of sexual harassment against WFI president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has lead to the sport’s world governing body rescinding India’s hosting rights for the upcoming Asian Championships, which were scheduled to be held in New Delhi from 28 March through to 2 April.
It was last December that United World Wrestling (UWW) had announced that the Asian Wrestling Championships 2023 would be held in the capital.
It bears noting that in the wake of the charges made against Brij Bhushan Singh, as too the decision of the Union Sports Ministry to set up an Oversight Committee to run the affairs of the WFI, UWW president Nenad Latovic had shot off a letter on 24 January expressing its concerns.
Those concernes were two-fold. First and foremost, the UWW wanted to know if India was still in a position to host the continental event. In the letter UWW had also reiterated “its great concern around the allegations made by the athletes and remain at disposal for any further assistance”.
Clearly said concerns were not satisfactorily addressed, which is what has led to this latest embarrassment for Indian sport in the international arena.
As per Indian Express, UWW had conveyed its decision to take the Asian Wrestling Championships 2023 out of India to the government-appointed oversight committee led by MC Mary Kom at a meeting on Wednesday, while also rejecting WFI’s request for a postponement of the event.
The daily further reported that the UWW had cited a written complaint it has received against Brij Bhushan Singh from the wrestlers as one of the reasons. The world body also pointed to the ongoing probe against the ruling party MP, which is likely to take at least two more weeks, and the government’s decision to suspend the activities of WFI as the other reason for their decision.
The UWW, however, has assured that Indian wrestlers will be able to take part in the rescheduled Asian Championship, the host of which is likely to be finalised in the coming days.
The continental event would have been the first international wrestling tournament to be held in the country since the pandemic and most top wrestlers were expected to take part in it.
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