Wrestling Federation of India suspended; Indian wrestlers to compete as neutral athletes at World Championships 2023

United World Wrestling (UWW), the global governing body for the sport, on Thursday, provisionally suspended the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) with immediate effect for not conducting elections on time.

The suspension means that Indian wrestlers won’t be able to compete under the national flag at the upcoming World Wrestling Championships 2023, scheduled in Belgrade, Serbia, from September 16 to 24.

The world championships will be the first wrestling qualifiers for next year’s Paris 2024 Olympics. Indian wrestlers will have to compete at the event as ‘neutral athletes’ if the suspension isn’t lifted.

Indian wrestling came under controversy in January after a host of allegations were made against the erstwhile WFI chief and several wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, protested demanding his removal from the post.

On April 27, an ad-hoc committee constituted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) took over the responsibility of conducting Indian wrestling’s day-to-day operations in the WFI’s stead but the panel was expected to conduct fresh elections for the federation within 45 days.

In June, the UWW had urged the IOA ad-hoc committee to respect the deadline.

“Failing to do so may lead UWW to suspend the federation, thereby forcing the athletes to compete under a neutral flag,” the world body had said.

However, due to legal challenges from several state bodies seeking the right to participate in the polls, the elections had to be deferred several times.

With the 45-day deadline already having passed, the UWW Disciplinary Chamber noted on Wednesday that it had sufficient grounds to impose the provisional suspension on the WFI as the situation in the federation has prevailed for at least six months.

The Chamber also stated that the absence of a regularly elected president and a board does not comply with the UWW regulations and the conditions for membership.

Interestingly, the suspension was imposed a day before the two-day Indian wrestling trials for the World Championships are scheduled in Patiala. The IOA ad-hoc committee has, however, informed the PTI that the trials will go ahead as per schedule.

Under the terms of the suspension, Indian wrestlers and their support personnel remain authorised to participate in all UWW-sanctioned events but they will do so under the UWW flag.

However, all other members of the federation will not be authorised to attend any UWW event until further notice.

Indian wrestlers, though, will get to participate under their national flag at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China, in September-October as the entries for the continental meet were sent by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and not the WFI.