New Delhi: Commonwealth and Asian Games gold medalist wrestler Vinesh Phogat slammed former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Saran Singh after the United World Wrestling (UWW) provisionally suspended the WFI with immediate effect for not conducting elections on time.
The WFI was supposed to conduct the elections in June. Unfortunately, the elections have faced multiple delays due to a series of legal challenges put forth by different state units.
Then, the polls to pick the new administrators were slated to be held on August 12 but got further delayed after the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the elections till further orders following a petition of the Haryana Wrestling Association (HWA).
"The extent of damage Indian wrestling has suffered because of Brij Bhushan. if it is properly assessed, the true picture will come to light. The tricolour has been insulted because of this mafia," Vinesh said in a post on X (previously Twitter).
The UWW has made it clear that the Indian wrestlers will have to contest under the UWW flag in international competitions.
In a series of post on Thursday, Olympic bronze medallist wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik also showed their displeasure and described the day as a "black day for Indian wrestling".
On April 27 the ad-hoc committee constituted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) took the responsibility of conducting the election and day-to-day function of the WFI. The panel was expected to conduct a fresh election for the federation within 45 days.
Notably, in June the UWW stimulated the IOA ad-hoc committee to respect the deadline.
The WFI is in limbo since the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the IOA set up an Oversight Committee to conduct day-to-day functions after a large number of wrestlers led by Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh sat in protest at the Janta Mantar in Delhi alleging Brij Bhushan of sexual harassment of female grapplers and overall mismanagement, demanding his removal from the post.
