Sports Ministry displeased with wrestlers for skipping Wrestling events

Due to their ongoing dispute with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and its president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the nation’s top wrestlers have decided to skip out on international competitions. As a result, the Ministry of Sports is furious about the situation. The Asian championships were relocated by United Global Wrestling due to the ongoing investigation against WFI. Top wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Deepak Punia, Anshu Malik, and Sangita Mor missed UWW Ranking Series events in Zagreb and Alexandria because a committee is looking into the allegations of sexual abuse against the WFI chief. Brij Bhushan, the former head of the WFI, has also resigned due to the ongoing investigation.

A six-member Oversight Committee, lead by famed boxer MC Mary Kom, is currently in charge of overseeing the sport. The government was forced to form the panel when wrestlers staged a sit-in protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, seeking Brij Bhushan’s removal from the top position and the dissolution of the WFI. The committee was established on January 23. The ministry requested Brij Bhushan to step aside while the investigation was being conducted and asked the committee to provide its report within four weeks. The committee was supposed to turn in its WFI report on February 23 in accordance with the original timetable, but the ministry granted an extension of two weeks after being asked for more time.

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What the Ministry said regarding the non-participation of wrestlers

The decision has irritated the government, which gives financial support to wrestlers through the Target Olympics Podium Program (TOPS) to help with preparation and training. The Ministry official mentioned, “We don’t get it why they are not competing when their demands have been met. We need to give time to the committee to complete its probe. It is wrestlers’ decision and we can’t force anyone but they should not have missed the events.” 

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What the Ministry Had to say about two week extension

The Ministry stated, “The committee was announced by the minister on January 21 night and was formed on January 23. The committee members requested us to give them some more time as they could start their probe only after the joining of the new member.” Besides Mary Kom, the members of the committee include wrestler Babita Kumari Phogat, former wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, retired shuttler Trupti Murgunde, SAI member Radhica Sreeman and Rajesh Rajagopalan, ex-CEO of TOPS.

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