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Sports ministry says it won't recognise events organised by suspended WFI

The Sports Ministry on Sunday said the suspended Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has no authority to conduct the Senior National Championships and any event staged by the body will be considered "unsanctioned" and "unrecognised". Three days after the WFI held its polls last month, the Ministry had suspended the sports body citing several violations of rules and then the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) formed a three-member ad-hoc panel to manage the federation's day-to-day affairs. However, a defiant Sanjay Singh, President of the suspended WFI, said that they will soon organise the national championships and insisted that they neither recognise the suspension of the newly-elected body nor the ad-hoc panel. "It has come to the notice of the Ministry that you have issued a Circular bearing No. WFI/Senior National/Maharashtra/2024 dated 06.01.2024 on the letterhead of the Wrestling Federation of India regarding conduct of Senior National Wrestling Championship 2023 at Pune ...

IOA cannot exercise control over WFI, UWW should lift ban: WFI chief

The WFI has reminded United World Wrestling that as per the international body's rules and the IOC charter, the Indian Olympic Association "cannot exercise any control" on the newly-elected body, and asked the UWW to immediately lift the provisional suspension it imposed in August last year. The newly-elected Wrestling Federation of India chief Sanjay Singh, whose body was suspended by the sports ministry three days after it came to power and an IOA ad-hoc panel was re-instituted to run the sport, in his letter to UWW president Nenad Lalovic has also said that any influence by the IOA in wrestling should be deemed "illegal" by UWW. "Pursuant to the election, the newly-elected body has taken charge of the WFI and is managing its affairs, and we await the lifting of the provisional suspension imposed by the UWW," said Sanjay Singh in his letter to Lalovic on Friday, a copy of which is with PTI. "We understand that we continue to be an affiliated member of the UWW. However, there is a

IOA asks Randhir to continue as OCA's acting president, will helm Asiad

India's veteran sports administrator Randhir Singh will be in charge of the Olympic Council of Asia during the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China after the International Olympic Committee refused to recognise the recent election at OCA. The IOA has asked Randhir to continue discharging his duties as the acting president of the OCA. The IOC wrote to Randhir, a former secretary general of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and an ex-IOA member, after banning Kuwait's Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah for three years over his alleged involvement in the recent OCA elections in Bangkok, where the latter's brother Sheikh Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was appointed president of the top continental sports body by 24 votes to 20. But the IOC, on the recommendation of its ethics commission, refused to recognise Sheikh Ahmad's election to the OCA president's post and launched an investigation into the polls. A former OPEC secretary-general, Sheikh Ahmad was already suspended as a member o

Time for filing objections to IOA's draft constitution extended by 2 weeks

The Supreme Court Monday extended by two more weeks the time for filing objections to the draft constitution of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) framed by former apex court judge Justice L Nageswara Rao. The top court also made it clear that the pendency of the pleas related to IOA will not preclude high courts from continuing with the hearing on pending petitions related to other sports bodies. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra asked Additional Solicitor General K M Natraj, appearing for the Centre, to collate the objections and the suggestions and give them to the parties concerned to the case. The bench said it will hear on August 11 the pleas related to the IOA and the All India Football Federation. Earlier, the top court had directed the Centre to collate the objections put forth by the stake-holders to the draft constitution of the IOA along with suggestions in three weeks. The draft constitution was adopted at the Specia

Ad-hoc panel fails to set trials date, asks IOA to approach OCA again

Barely 10 days left for the extended deadline to expire for picking the Indian wrestling team, the IOA ad-hoc panel has yet again failed to set a date for the Asian Games trials, leaving the wrestling fraternity perplexed and confounded. While the OCA has set July 15 as deadline for all nations to send athletes' entries by names for the Games, the continental body had extended the deadline to send details of the Indian wrestling squad till July 22 under "exceptional circumstances." However, despite getting an additional one week, the ad-hoc panel could not decide on a date for trials after a marathon meeting on Monday. Instead, it decided that IOA should approach the OCA again for further extension. "We have requested IOA president (PT Usha) to use her office to urge the OCA to extend the date beyond July 22," Ashok Garg one of the ad-hoc committee members told PTI after the meeting. "Nothing else came out of the meeting. We are hopeful of a positive response from the OCA. We spoke

Asian Games 2023: IOA ad-hoc panel pushes back decision on wrestling trials

The IOA ad-hoc panel members met on Tuesday but could not finalise a date to conduct wrestling trials for the Asian Games and World Championship as the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) was still sitting on its request for July 15 deadline extension. The IOA is supposed to give names of all participating Indian athletes to the Asian Games organisers by July 15 and it had requested them to extend the deadline to August 10 so that it could provide the protesting wrestlers enough time to be ready. Six wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat, among others, had requested the sports ministry to grant them additional time to prepare for Asian Games trials. They had contended that they are not in good physical shape to appear in trials due to their 38-day long protest against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The ad-hoc panel, on its part, had exempted them from Asian Games and

Wrestlers want Asian Games trials in Aug, IOA approaches OCA for extension

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday approached the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), seeking an extension of the July 15 deadline for providing details of the country's wrestling squad for the Asian Games after the protesting grapplers requested the Sports Ministry to conduct trials in August. The IOA is required to submit lists of squads of all sporting disciplines to the OCA by July 15 and the apex sports body has already asked all the national federations to submit the final names of their respective selected players by June 30. The protesting wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, are now keen to compete in the Asian Games trials but need time to be in good physical shape, as they hardly got time to prepare due to their long-drawn protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. It has been learnt that the wrestlers wrote a letter to Deputy Sports Secretary SPS Tomar on Friday and the ministry official forwarded the request on Saturday to

IOA appoints Retd Justice Mittal as returning officer, elections on July 4

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has planned to conduct the impending Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections on July 4 and appointed former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Mahesh Mittal Kumar as the returning officer. The elections will be conducted at the Special General Meeting of the WFI. "IOA has to take steps forward to conduct elections of the WFI Executive Committee and we are pleased to appoint you as a returning officer to conduct the elections of the WFI. You many consider appointing one assistant returning officer and other staff to assist in conducting the elections," the IOA wrote in its letter to justice Mittal Kumar. "Elections are required to be conducted in the SGM of the WFI called on 4th July and the schedule of the election will be required to be drawn accordingly. "We look forward to your confirmation of acceptance and also smooth conduct of elections of the WFI on July 4." Sources, however, said Justice Mittal Kumar can decide the date o

First step towards WFI elections, IOA ad-hoc panel gathers voters list

With the government setting a June 30 deadline for Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections, the IOA ad-hoc committee has taken the first step towards conducting the impending polls by gathering the voters list, which will be required to form the electoral college. The third member of the ad-hoc committee -- a retired high court judge under whose supervision the elections will be conducted -- is yet to be appointed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). "The judge will be appointed soon. We are already on the job. We have got the voters list from the previous set up," an IOA source told PTI. After the country's top wrestlers accused outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment and intimidation, the IOA, on the instruction of the Sports Ministry, had formed the ad-hoc committee on April 27 to manage the day-to-day affairs of the federation and also conduct its elections. The committee took charge on May 4 and is tasked with completing the election process

IOA calls wrestling trials 'much-needed break' for 2500 participants

IOA has called the open selection trials of U-15 and U-20 wrestlers a 'fair and transparent' affair, and a 'much-needed break' for the 2500 participants

Selection trials priority over WFI elections: IOA President PT Usha

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P T Usha on Tuesday justified the delay in holding the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections, saying selection trials for the junior grapplers was a priority for the national sports apex body. The IOA had on April 27 announced that a three-member ad-hoc committee will run the day-to-day affairs of the federation and also hold WFI elections within 45 days of its formation. However it has not yet appointed the third member -- a retired high court judge -- to initiate the election process. A two-member ad hoc committee of Bhupender Singh Bajwa and Suma Shirur took charge on May 4 and is carrying out Federation-related work. The ad-hoc body is looking after the selection trials of U-15 and U-20 wrestlers for the Asian Championship. The 45-day deadline for holding WFI elections ends on June 17. "For betterment of kids we prioritised the trials rather than elections of WFI. If we concentrate on elections, the trials will be compromised,

WFI should hand over all documents to ad-hoc panel, says IOA

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has asked the secretary general of WFI to hand over the official documents including financial instruments to its ad-hoc panel, making it clear the outgoing office bearers shall have no role in the running of the federation. The WFI said it has no issues in obeying the IOA order since they were already co-operating with the authorities. An IOA official, though, has made it clear that the move should not be seen as dissolution of the Federation. "Once the elections will be held, the administrative powers will go back to the WFI. The newly elected officials will run the show. It's just a temporary move that ad-hoc is managing the affairs of the Federation," the official told PTI. The IOA had formed an ad-hoc committee to manage the day-to-day affairs of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and also conduct due polls of the NSF. The ad-hoc committee was formed by the IOA at the behest of the Sports Ministry after several top wrestlers returned

WFI row: PT Usha wades into controversy; here's all you need to know

Wrestlers staging protests on the streets amounts to indiscipline. It is tarnishing the image of India, she added.

Wrestlers protesting on streets tarnishing India's image: IOA Prez PT Usha

Coming down heavily on the aggrieved wrestlers, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha on Thursday said the grapplers protesting on the streets amounts to indiscipline and is tarnishing the country's image. Decorated wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi malik are the three central characters in the renewed protests against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation by the grapplers. "Wrestlers staging protest on streets amounts to indiscipline. It is tarnishing the image of India," Usha told reporters after IOA's Executive Committee meeting. The IOA also instituted a three-member adhoc panel, including former shooter Suma Shirur, Wushu Association of India chief Bhupendra Singh Bajwa and headed by a yet-to-be-named retired high court judge, to run the affairs of the WFI until a new body is elected. The IOA and the government had managed to placate the wrestlers

IOA EC meeting on April 27 for actionable solutions on WFI impasse

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday said it will hold its Executive Council meeting on Thursday to look for "actionable solutions" to end the current impasse in the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). IOA president PT Usha said the Olympic body decided to hold the meeting at the earliest after the sports ministry stalled the federation's election on May 7 and asked the sport's governing body to constitute an ad-hoc committee and conduct the polls within 45 days of its formation. As per the government directive, the ad-hoc panel will also manage day-to-day affairs of the WFI till the sports body gets a fresh Executive Committee. "In light of the letter received from GoI-MYAS, IOA undertakes the urgency of the matter. Our scheduled EC meet on 27 April will discuss & provide actionable solutions to the current impasse in WFI. IOA is committed to the betterment of our sportspersons & its sporting ecosystem," Usha tweeted. The ministry's decision came after the ...

IOA to build National Games brand value, wants support of top athletes

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) wants the country's top athletes to take part in the National Games so that a brand value can be created around the multi-sport event to attract sponsorship money. Hosting the multi-discipline games, a biennial event, has become a messy affair in recent times due to multiple delays, and only one National Games -- in Gujarat last year -- have been held since the 35th edition in Kerala in 2015. "IOA's main property is the National Games. If top players do not participate in the National Games, what is the use of hosting them. If they (top athletes) take part, television revenue from the National Games will go up, people will watch players of calibre," IOA joint secretary and acting Chief Executive Officer Kalyan Chaubey told PTI on Sunday. Goa has been confirmed during IOA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday as host of the 37th edition in November. IOA president P T Usha told PTI on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be request

A tough track for Usha

The Indian Olympic Association's governance needs to be stabilised, but it is not going to be a walk in the park even for a president who understands the demands of the fraternity

Delighted to see so many women in IOA's Executive Council: Nita Ambani

Mrs. Nita M. Ambani, IOC member from India and Founder Chairperson, Reliance Foundation, congratulated legendary athlete PT Usha on becoming the new President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)

No contest for vice-president in IOA elections after candidature withdrawal

Six-time Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan on Saturday withdrew his candidature for an executive council member's position ahead of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) elections. Rowing Federation of India president Rajlaxmi Singh Deo will be elected unopposed to the post of vice president (female) in the December 10 elections after Alaknanda Ashok of Badminton Association of India pulled out on the last day of withdrawal. Keshavan, who had filed nomination papers for one of the four positions of the ordinary executive council members, withdrew his candidature to avoid "division of votes" among candidates from winter sports. Ice Skating Association of India's Amitabh Sharma and Ice Hockey Association of India's Harjinder Singh are also candidates for executive council members. "I decided to withdraw as it made no sense to have three people from winter sports that would divide votes. Winter sports would have been left out," Keshavan, who is a representative of Luge Federation of India

Mary Kom, Sindhu, Mirabai, Keshavan elected in IOA Athletes' Commission

Five-time world champion boxer M C Mary Kom, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and multiple-time winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan were among 10 eminent sportspersons elected unopposed as members of the IOA Athletes Commission in the polls held here on Monday. The other seven members of the apex body are Tokyo Olympics silver medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, 2012 Olympics bronze winner shooter Gagan Narang, veteran table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal, ace hockey player Rani Rampal, cyclist Bhavani Devi, rower Bajrang Lal and former shot putter OP Karhana. All the 10 members, out of which five are female, are Olympians. Keshavan is the only Winter Olympian. Only 10 candidates filed nominations for the same number of seats in the Athletes Commission and Umesh Sinha, who is also the returning officer of the upcoming IOA elections, declared all of them elected unopposed. India's first individual Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and former India hockey team captain