In addition, the Wrestling Federation of India attends TOPS meetings (Target Olympic Podium) and plans to hold competitions in accordance with its schedule.
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The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has announced that the National Championships in the U-17 category and the Senior Open National Ranking Wrestling Tournament would be held from April 16 to April 18. These will be the WFI’s first competitions after the Indian government banned all of the organization’s activities on January 21 in response to accusations of sexual harassment and financial wrongdoing against WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Vinod Tomar, the suspended assistant secretary, halted all competitions . An oversight committee was then formed to look into the accusations made against the WFI president. However, the WFI resumed its regular operations earlier this week after the Oversight Committee presented a fact-finding report about the claims, according to WFI general secretary VN Prasood.
“When the Federation was suspended, we had to stop the National ranking series after the first day of competition. Now we are completing that tournament as well as conducting the U-17 nationals,” Prasood said. Prasood even mentioned that with the players’ allegations primarily being made against the WFI president, there was no restriction on the Wrestling Federation of India itself resuming its activities. “The WFI president is still not involved in the day-to-day activities of the federation,” he said. The competitions will be hosted on the premises of Nandini Nagar Mahavidyalaya, which Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh heads, even though he may not be actively involved in the federation’s daily operations. The college is situated in the Lok Sabha constituency of Kaiserganj, where Brij Bhushan has won many elections as a member of Parliament. Gonda is where the college is situated.
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Originally, the Oversight Committee was given four weeks to produce its fact-finding report. This committee was in charge of managing the federation’s daily operations. However, on February 23, this period was pushed back for another two weeks. The Oversight Committee had asked the WFI for assistance with a variety of tasks, such as securing visas for international competitions and holding a selection trial to choose a squad for the Asian Championships. “After the Oversight Committee submitted their report to the government, they also submitted bills for legal costs that they incurred in their activities to the WFI. That meant that their role in running day-to-day activities of the federation is over,” Prasood said.
In addition, the WFI attends TOPS meetings (Target Olympic Podium) and plans to hold competitions in accordance with its schedule. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Indian Olympic Association, and the International Wrestling Federation all recognize the WFI as the organization in charge of promoting and developing wrestling in India. The Wrestling Federation of India began operations in 1965 and has its headquarters in New Delhi.
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