NEW DELHI: After suspending the newly-formed Wrestling Federation of India on Sunday, the Sports Ministry has requested the Indian Olympic Association to constitute an ad-hoc committee to manage and control the affairs of the governing body.
The Centre suspended the WFI till further orders after the body made a ‘hasty announcement’ of organising the U-15 and U-20 nationals ‘without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers’ for preparations.
The Sports Ministry wrote to the IOA to form a temporary panel to manage the affairs of WFI at the earliest.
“… Taking note of the compelling current situation arising out of the influence and control of the WFI’s former office bearers, serious concerns have arisen about the governance and integrity of the WFI,” said the letter signed by Tarun Pareek, under secretary to the Government of India.
“This requires for immediate and stringent corrective measures to uphold the principles of good governance in sports organizations, and thus, now it becomes incumbent on part of the IOA to to make suitable arrangements for the interim for managing the affairs of WFI so that sportspersons of wrestling discipline do not suffer in any manner and the principle of good governance in the sports body do not get jeopradised,” he said in the letter addressed to IOA President PT Usha.
The WFI elections were held on December 21 with former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s loyalist, Sanjay Singh, and his panel winning the polls by big margins.
Before the elections were held, the WFI was run by an ad-hoc body formed by the IOA after former president Brij Bhushan stepped aside. Bhuoender Singh Bajwa, who doubled up as the president of the Wushu Federation of India, was then the chief of the ad-hoc body.
Top wrestler Bajrang Punia, who along with Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, had led the agitation against Brij Bhushan had returned his Padma Shri award to the government on Friday in protest over Sanjay Singh becoming WFI President.
This came a day after Sakshi Malik quit wrestling for the same reason.
(With inputs from PTI)
Watch Newly elected WFI body suspended: Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh says ‘nothing to do with wrestling’
The Centre suspended the WFI till further orders after the body made a ‘hasty announcement’ of organising the U-15 and U-20 nationals ‘without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers’ for preparations.
The Sports Ministry wrote to the IOA to form a temporary panel to manage the affairs of WFI at the earliest.
“… Taking note of the compelling current situation arising out of the influence and control of the WFI’s former office bearers, serious concerns have arisen about the governance and integrity of the WFI,” said the letter signed by Tarun Pareek, under secretary to the Government of India.
“This requires for immediate and stringent corrective measures to uphold the principles of good governance in sports organizations, and thus, now it becomes incumbent on part of the IOA to to make suitable arrangements for the interim for managing the affairs of WFI so that sportspersons of wrestling discipline do not suffer in any manner and the principle of good governance in the sports body do not get jeopradised,” he said in the letter addressed to IOA President PT Usha.
The WFI elections were held on December 21 with former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s loyalist, Sanjay Singh, and his panel winning the polls by big margins.
Before the elections were held, the WFI was run by an ad-hoc body formed by the IOA after former president Brij Bhushan stepped aside. Bhuoender Singh Bajwa, who doubled up as the president of the Wushu Federation of India, was then the chief of the ad-hoc body.
Top wrestler Bajrang Punia, who along with Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, had led the agitation against Brij Bhushan had returned his Padma Shri award to the government on Friday in protest over Sanjay Singh becoming WFI President.
This came a day after Sakshi Malik quit wrestling for the same reason.
(With inputs from PTI)
Watch Newly elected WFI body suspended: Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh says ‘nothing to do with wrestling’