The nation and athletes suffer as WFI gets suspended on the world stage

The national flag won’t be raised and the national anthem won’t be played even if an Indian wrestler registers a podium finish at the Wrestling World Championships next month.

Indian wrestling continues to hit one rock bottom after another. In the latest episode of controversy and humiliation, Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has been suspended by the global body United World Wrestling (UWW) over its failure to hold elections on time following the sexual harassment and corruption allegations against former president Brij Bhushan Singh.

The acting CEO of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Kalyan Chaubey has confirmed the development. This means that even though the Indian wrestlers will be allowed to compete at the Wrestling World Championships in Serbia next month, they will be participating as ‘neutral athletes’.

As such, they won’t get to compete under the Indian national flag and the national anthem will not be played even if they finish on the podium. The decision comes as a huge blow to India’s sporting aspirations on the international stage and is also expected to derail the wrestlers’ momentum.

The world body has written to the IOA, informing them about the decision.

“The IOA has received a communication and will decide the future course of action, including the selection of teams for the World Championships,” an official said. The IOA’s ad-hoc committee had been tasked with overseeing the affairs of the WFI currently following the ousting of Brij Bhushan Singh.

It was initially believed that the selection trials for the World Championships was going to be held in Patiala on August 25 and 26. However, following UWW’s bombshell announcement, the fate of the event remains uncertain.

The UWW had warned the Indian wrestling fraternity as early as in May that there could be grave consequences if polls were not held within the specified time period. The global body had also released a strong statement condemning the arrest of the Indian wrestlers after leading a protest march in New Delhi.

“The 45-day deadline that was initially set to hold this elective assembly shall be respected. Failing to do so may lead to suspend the federation, thereby forcing the athletes to compete under a neutral flag,” the UWW had said at the time.

The WFI election has proven to be nothing but a merry-go-around. They were first scheduled to be held on May 7 but were stayed after famous wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Malik resumed their protest against Singh.

This resulted in the elections getting postponed to June, then July, before finally settling on the date of August 12. However, there were further delays as state associations filed cases in court seeking the right to participate in polls. The final stay came on August 11 by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a day before the polls were to be held.

Despite fervent calls for Singh’s arrest over allegations of sexual harassment, bribery, abuse of power, and widespread corruption, the lack of action taken against him has disappointed the top wrestlers in the country time and time again. They believe that Singh - a six-time Bharatiya Janata Party MP - is being shielded from the law and is receiving special protection from the government.

“You have to ask Amit Shah, why he (WFI chief) is not being arrested. He is such a powerful man that the government is trying to shield him. So getting him arrested is not easy but we are continuing our fight,” Vinesh Phogat had told PTI two months ago.

Meanwhile, the wrestlers who have been protesting against him in several bouts since January have had to face a series of trials and tribulations for their demands to be heard. Not only have they been let down by the government and judiciary, but are also facing the embarrassment of having to compete as neutral athletes going forward.

The events of this year then show how WFI, and the government’s long silence, has failed its athletes by refusing to promptly act on their complaints and safeguard them from exploitation, leading to the conclusion where an international body has had to step in. 

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