Explained | Why was the WFI suspended by United World Wrestling?

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and Sakshi Malik address a news conference as they take part in a sit-in protest demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief, who they accuse of sexually harassing female players, in New Delhi on April 24.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The story so far: In the backdrop of the wrestlers’ protest over various issues, United World Wrestling (UWW), the world governing body for the sport, has provisionally suspended the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) primarily for not conducting its elections on time.

What is the impact?

As per the UWW letter to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) appointed ad-hoc committee, which is running the WFI in the absence of an elected body, “wrestlers and their support personnel (individuals with a high-performance, medical or technical role such as coaches, assistant coach, sport physicians or masseur) remain authorised to participate in all UWW sanctioned events (that is all events on the UWW calendar), however they shall do so under the UWW flag.”

This means that Indian wrestlers cannot compete under the national flag in UWW events, including the World championships in Belgrade in September. No national anthem will be played if an Indian wrestler wins a gold medal.

What caused the delay?

As some prominent wrestlers — including Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and World championship medallist Vinesh Phogat — brought allegations of sexual harassment, intimidation, financial irregularities and administrative lapse against the then WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and others and sat in protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in January, the Union Sports Ministry asked the federation chief to step aside until an M.C. Mary Kom-headed Oversight Committee (OC) completed its enquiry.

After the enquiry, even though the OC report was not made public, the WFI on April 16 announced that its elections, which were due in February, would be held on May 7. The wrestlers then returned to the protest site and demanded the arrest of former WFI president.

They also demanded that Brij Bhushan’s family members should be stopped from contesting the elections. Brij Bhushan himself was not eligible to contest the WFI polls after completing three terms (12 years).

The Ministry halted the polls on April 24 and asked the IOA to form an ad-hoc committee to complete the election process within 45 days. In May, both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and UWW asked the IOA to conduct the WFI polls within the stipulated time frame. The IOA appointed Justice (retd.) M.M. Kumar as the returning officer for the WFI elections on June 12 after which the polls were scheduled for July 6. Meanwhile, the UWW on July 3, had warned about WFI’s possible suspension.

Disgruntled state associations seeking voting rights caused further delays. The stays on the elections, first by the Gauhati High Court on June 25 and then by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on August 11 (a day before the latest date fixed for the elections), were significant.

Therefore, the UWW Disciplinary Chamber found sufficient grounds to provisionally suspend the WFI due to the prevailing situation for at least six months. The absence of an elected president and a board did not comply with UWW regulations and its conditions for membership.

The Chamber also considered the protection of athletes after the allegations against the former WFI president and the necessity to restore the functioning of the federation as another ground to suspend the national body.

What is the way forward?

Even as Brij Bhushan, a six-time influential Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongman, maintains a firm hold over majority of the WFI State units, the wrestlers, desperately trying to keep Brij Bhushan’s loyalists out of power have found a few candidates of their choice in the elections.

Different factions of the WFI need to realise the immense loss the sport has suffered because of the ongoing issue. The only way to bail the country out of international ignominy and give the athletes their right to compete under the Tricolour is to conduct the WFI elections in a free and fair manner.

• United World Wrestling (UWW), the world governing body for the sport, has provisionally suspended the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) primarily for not conducting its elections on time.
• This means that Indian wrestlers cannot compete under the national flag in UWW events, including the World championships in Belgrade in September. No national anthem will be played if an Indian wrestler wins a gold medal.
• The UWW Disciplinary Chamber also considered the protection of athletes after the allegations against the former WFI president and the necessity to restore the functioning of the federation as another ground to suspend the national body.