IOA forms ad hoc committee to run wrestling in India after WFI's suspension

The WFI was suspended by the sports ministry after its controversial decision to announce U-15 and U-20 national championships in tainted former chief Brijbhushana Sharan Singh's constituency Gonda

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) formed an ad-hoc committee on Wednesday, days after it was asked by the sports ministry to do so. This comes after the suspension of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI)’s governing council by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) on Sunday, December 24, 2023.

Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, who headed the previous ad-hoc committee that ran the sport in the country in the absence of a fairly elected body till late December from early August 2023, will be heading this ad-hoc committee as well.

MM Somaya and Manjusha Kanwar are the other two members of the committee.

A letter, signed by PT Usha, the chief of the IOC in response to the request by the sports ministry to form the ad hoc committee, read, "The Indian Olympic Association has recently become aware that the recently appointed President and officials of the WFI have made arbitrary decisions in violation of their own constitutional provisions and against the principles of good governance espoused by the IOC and further without following due process overturned the rulings of the IOA appointed ad hoc committee.”

This follows a storming week of drama in wrestling outside the mat in India.  After Sanjay Singh, a close aide of Brijbhushan Sharan Singh was elected as the president of WFI in an election held on December 21, Sakshi Malik, one of the three wrestlers who led protests against Brijbhushan, announced her retirement from the game in protest of the results.

The newly elected body then announced U-15 and U-20 national championships to be held in Nandini Nagar, Gonda, the parliamentary constituency of Brijbhushan.

This issue was raised by Sakshi and the sports ministry suspended the newly elected body because the General Secretary of WFI Prem Chand Locab was not present in the meeting in which the national championships were announced, violating the National Sports Code and WFI’s own constitution.

Bajrang Punia, another Olympic medal winner announced to return Padma Shri award and it was followed by Vinesh Phogat, the third wrestler in the trio of Sakshi, Bajrang Vinesh, who spearheaded the wrestlers’ protest in 2023, announcing to return Khel Ratna award on Tuesday, December 26.