Fake certificates at Wrestling National C'ships? Sakshi Malik lashes out at suspended WFI chief Sanjay Singh

Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik, on Tuesday (Jan 30), ripped apart suspended Wrestling Federation of India chief Sanjay Singh with some serious allegations. Sakshiclaimed that fake certificates were being given to wrestlers at the National Championships in Pune by sharing a photo on social media, in which a "fake" certificate was given to a wrestler for clinching a silver medal in a particular weight category. It is to be noted that the year of birth of the wrestler, as visible in the certificate, was 2023.

In addition, Sakshi questioned how the suspended Wrestling Federation of India can conduct the senior national championships in Pune, stating that the Indian Olympics Association-appointed ad-hoc committee had scheduled the nationals in Jaipur for February. The female wrestler has urged the Sports Minister Anurag Thakur to look into the matter in detail in a long post on X, formerly Twitter.

'Sanjay Singh is illegally signing and distributing certificates of different National Championships'

She wrote, "The Government of India had suspended the activities of Brij Bhushan's associate Sanjay Singh, yet Sanjay Singh is running the National Wrestling Championship as per his wish and is distributing fake certificates to the players, which is illegal. The Wrestling National Championship organized by the Sports Ministry is to be held in Jaipur, but before that, to prove his dominance over wrestling, Sanjay Singh is illegally signing and distributing certificates of different National Championships."

Sakshi added, "How can a suspended person of the organization misuse the money of the organization? Tomorrow when the players go to ask for jobs with these certificates, action will be taken against the poor players. Whereas there is no fault of the players. Action should be taken immediately against Sanjay Singh who is committing such fraud and who is still committing all these frauds despite the ban on his activities. I appeal to the Sports Minister Shri Anurag Thakur ji to look into this issue and save the future of the players from getting spoiled."

It is alarming to note that despite the sports ministry's warning, thesuspended WFI hosted the nationals in Pune. Sanjay Singh was elected as the new WFI chief last year. Soon after, Sakshi announced her retirement from wrestling as Sanjay is a close aide of former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. It is to be noted that Sakshi and many other top wrestlers, such as Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, charged Brij Bhushan with sexually harassing female wrestlers in early 2023. Thus, Sanjay's appointment led to Sakshi quitting the sport altogether. Later, the newly-elected Wrestling Federation of India governing body, along with its chief Sanjay, got suspended soon. However, despite their suspension, the WFI faction -- led by Sanjay -- remained adamant about hostingthe nationals in Pune, raising eyebrows.