Wrestling Federation of India membership suspended on world stage over delayed elections

The United World Wrestling (UWW), the world governing body for wrestling, indefinitely suspended the membership of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) due to the federation's failure to conduct its elections on time.

With this development, Indian grapplers will not be able to compete at the upcoming World Championships under the Indian flag. Instead, they will have to compete as 'neutral athletes' at the Olympic-qualifying World Championships starting September 16 as the ad-hoc panel, led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa, did not honour the 45-day deadline for conducting the elections.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had appointed the ad-hoc panel on April 27 and the committee was supposed to hold elections within 45 days.

Earlier in April, UWW had warned that it could suspend the Indian federation if the deadline to hold elections is not honoured.

"The UWW communicated to the ad-hoc panel on Wednesday night that WFI has been suspended for not holding elections to its executive committee," an IOA source told PTI.

Originally, the WFI was to hold elections on May 7 but the Sports Ministry had declared the process as null and void.

The elections have been delayed multiple times with multiple disgruntled and disaffiliated state bodies moving the court, seeking the right to participate in the polls.

The WFI was suspended first in January and then again in May after India's top wrestlers protested against its functioning and alleged its then president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh sexually harassed female wrestlers. The day-to-day affairs of WFI are currently being managed by the Indian Olympic Association-constituted ad-hoc committee led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa.

(With agency inputs)