WFI to challenge High Court order, says Indian wrestlers’ participation in upcoming Worlds in danger

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Friday said it will challenge the Delhi High Court order that restored the mandate of IOA’s ad-hoc committee to manage the affairs of the sports body, saying the “interference” could jeopardise the participation of Indian wrestlers at the upcoming World Championships.

The latest order came on a plea seeking a stay on the WFI’s functioning and preventing it from undertaking any activity as a national federation for the sport.

Justice Sachin Datta while passing the interim order on the plea by wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and her husband Satyawart Kadian, said it was open to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) re-constituting the committee which Bhupender Singh Bajwa earlier led.

The IOA had dissolved the ad-hoc panel on April 4 while UWW had lifted its suspension on February 13 this year after WFI conducted its elections.

“We are going to take it to double bench. The IOA had dissolved the ad-hoc panel. We will also approach the world governing body UWW and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). They had warned that outside interference may impact out athletes,” WFI president Sanjay Singh told PTI.

“Two World Championships are approaching. Indian wrestlers’ participation could be blocked,” he feared.

READ | Nishant Phogat among 29 Indians in action at under-17 World Wrestling Championships 2024

The U-17 World Championship is set to be held in Amman, Jordan from August 19-25 while the U-20 World Championship is scheduled in Pontevedra, Spain from September 2-8.

UWW president in his April 25 letter to the WFI president had made it clear that the ad-hoc panel running the show was not acceptable to them.

“In case any decision or order should be made against your federation, and a third party be designated to run the daily affairs of our sport in India in violation of the UWW Statutes, UWW would have no other option than to re-impose a temporary suspension of your federation until further notice, and which, this time, could maybe include your athletes,” UWW president Nenad Lalovic wrote.

The Centre had suspended the WFI on December 24, 2023, three days after it elected the new office bearers, for allegedly not following the provisions of its own constitution while taking decisions and requested IOA to constitute an ad-hoc committee to manage its affairs.

On March 4, the court had issued notice to the central government, WFI and the ad-hoc committee on the petition filed by the top grapplers.