Chaos and confusion reign supreme in National Wrestling Championships

Following the protests by the country’s topmost wrestlers against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for alleged sexual abuse by its then chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and other improprieties, the National wrestling championships returned amid utter chaos.

Held five months before the Paris Olympics, the two domestic events — one held in Pune by some Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) office-bearers and another in Jaipur by the government-sanctioned Indian Olympic Association-appointed ad hoc committee — served as an instrument of one-upmanship in a detestable battle that hampered the wrestlers’ interest.

Despite their suspension and having received warnings from the Union Sports Ministry that their event would not be recognised, the WFI, led by Sanjay Singh from Brij Bhushan’s camp, proceeded to conduct the National championships.

The ad hoc body, with the full backing of the government but lacking the support of several WFI state units, allowed everyone to compete, irrespective of whether he or she represented an affiliated unit or not.

The Pune Nationals did have the support of a few state units, but it was short on quality due to the absence of some well-known wrestlers.

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The Jaipur Nationals saw the absence of several state units, owing allegiance to the WFI. But it attracted elite wrestlers, including World Championship medallists Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik, and Sarita Mor, who aspire to compete in the Paris Olympics.

The conduct of two back-to-back National championships created a lot of confusion and insecurity among the athletes and posed more questions than answers.

Many up-and-coming wrestlers were not sure where they should compete. Selection trials conducted by various state unit factions either on identical dates or close to each other forced some athletes to take part in as many as four competitions (two trials and two Nationals) or miss some of these. As per a rough estimate provided by an ad hoc panel official, over 50 wrestlers competed in both Nationals.

There were allegations that some wrestlers were warned not to participate in the government-approved Nationals.

Troubled past

The IOA-appointed ad hoc committee had conducted selection trials for some important international events, including the World Championships and the Asian Games.

Even after the WFI polls last year, the wrestlers objected to the election of Sanjay Singh because of Brij Bhushan’s influence on him.

The Sports Ministry, taking note of Sanjay’s proximity to Brij Bhushan and some ‘arbitrary’ decisions taken by the newly-elected body, swiftly ‘suspended’ the WFI and declared that the competitions conducted by the national federation would not be recognised.

It asked the IOA to form another ad hoc body to run the WFI.

In this troubled background, with the government-mandated ad hoc committee asserting itself as the rightful body to run wrestling at the moment and the elected WFI not wanting to loosen its grip over the sport’s administration, a chaotic scenario emerged.

The Railways, a public sector unit entrusted with holding the government-sanctioned National championships, made all possible efforts and pumped in significant financial resources to make the Jaipur event a success.

Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) secretary Prem Chand Lochab, a wrestlers’ sympathiser who was elected the WFI secretary, oversaw the conduct of the competition as the organisers erected a big makeshift indoor arena on the Railway Stadium ground and fitted all facilities inside it to give it as much ‘international’ look as possible.

Accommodations for the wrestlers, officials, and guests in various hotels across Jaipur and decent meals served to all of them were part of the elaborate arrangements.

Of course, it would be difficult for any state unit to arrange such large-scale funds to put on an equally matching show.\

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Even though the arrangements were top-notch because of the Railways’ generosity, the confusion could not be avoided. With several state units refraining from assigning athletes for the Jaipur event, one came across claims about the ad hoc body allowing some coaches to send entries on behalf of their states. Altogether, 732 wrestlers took part in the event.

The biggest challenge was when entries poured in for freestyle competitions. A whopping 325 entries, an unusually high number, including an uncharacteristic 32 entries in the 125kg category, were received for freestyle bouts on the final day, which saw the inevitable scenario of the action continuing well past midnight.

Participants from unconventional units like Goa, Tripura, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar, Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya, along with their medal-winning displays, further amplified the existing fault lines.

Promising start

Performance-wise, the Jaipur Nationals saw the return of Vinesh and Anshu after their injury layoffs. It was a good sign for Indian wrestling ahead of the Olympics.

While Vinesh recovered from her knee surgery to win the 55kg gold medal, Anshu, overcoming a knee issue through rehab, secured the 59kg title by beating another Worlds medallist, Sarita Mor, in an engrossing final.

Vinesh is eyeing a ticket to the Olympics in 53kg, while Anshu and Sarita will be keen for the 57kg spot. World junior bronze medallist Sujeet Kalkal (65kg) and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Naveen Malik (74kg) emerged as deserving winners in important Olympic weights in freestyle. Asian Games bronze medalist Sunil Kumar (87kg) and Gyanender (60kg) were among the notable winners in Greco-Roman competitions, nurturing aspirations of Olympic participation.

It will be interesting to see how the ad hoc committee learns from its experience and handles the National Under-15 and under-20 championships from February 28 to March 5.

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Meanwhile, in a much-needed relief, the United World Wrestling (UWW) lifted the suspension on the WFI on February 13, while asking it to adhere to certain conditions related to athletes’ welfare. Now, the Indian wrestlers, who had to compete under the UWW flag during the suspension period, will get to compete under the national flag in UWW events.

It would be ideal, now, for the Sports Ministry and the WFI to amicably work towards restoring normalcy in the Indian wrestling administration ahead of Paris 2024.

Meanwhile, the UWW, which is closely monitoring the situation, is awaiting certain reforms by the WFI and a favourable verdict from the IOA to revoke its suspension.

While legal action from certain WFI units cannot be ruled out, it would be ideal for the Sports Ministry and the WFI to amicably work towards restoring normalcy in the wrestling administration ahead of the Paris Olympics.