Bhupendra Singh Bajwa to lead three-member IOA committee to run WFI operations
Bhupendra Singh Bajwa to lead three-member IOA committee to run WFI operations
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Wednesday (Dec 27) appointed a three-member committee to run the operations of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) after its new body was suspended by the Sports Ministry. The new body of the WFI came into power on December 21 when Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former chief Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan was elected as the president. However, the Sports Ministry of India then suspended the newly elected body on the grounds of a hasty announcement on Sunday. Bhupendra Singh Bajwa has been appointed as the Chairman, MM Somaya as a member, and Manjusha Kanwar as another member of the ad-hoc committee.
IOA in action
After a big backlash from wrestlers, the IOA has acted swiftly and have appointed a committee that will look after the day-to-day activities of the WFI. It is anticipated that WFI elections could be held again after the Supreme Court’s order which could be challenged by the newly-elected committee. Wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik have already taken their stand against the newly-elected committee by either returning their national honours or retiring from the sport.
What was the case?
The new WFI chief, Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former President Brij Bhushan Singh, saw off competition from Anita Sheoran to win the top post on Thursday. In protest, Bajrangdecided to return his Padma Shri honour as he did not support newly elected member Sanjay Singh. On Friday, he tweeted about returning the honour in a mark of protest against the new panel.
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With the vote counting taking place immediately in the aftermath of the elections last Thursday, Sanjay Singh gained 40 votes out of 47 to succeedBrij Bhushan.
Year of chaos for WFI
The protests had begun in January 2023 by top wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and others in the epicenter. The cluster of top wrestlers wanted then-President Brij Bhushan to be thrown out of power for sexual harassment charges against him. The protests were first held at the iconic Jantar Mantar in New Delhi while the attention then switched to the holy city of Haridwar (210 km North of New Delhi). Protesters even protested in New Delhi during the inauguration of the new parliament building of India on May 28.
