Centre overturns suspension of Wrestling Federation of India

The Union sports ministry on Tuesday overturned the suspension of the Wrestling Federation of India with immediate effect, The Indian Express reported.

The Union government also gave full control of the federation to its president Sanjay Singh. He is a close aide of former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Six women wrestlers have accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment. The Delhi Police registered a first information report against him in April 2023, following the intervention of the Supreme Court. In June 2023, the police filed a 1,000-page chargesheet against him.

On Tuesday, the sports ministry cited findings of the spot verification committee, compliance measures put in place by the federation and the larger interest of “Indian sports and athletes” while revoking the suspension of WFI and restoring its recognition as the national body for the sport.

The ministry had suspended the federation in December 2023 after Sanjay Singh announced that the under-15 and under-20 national championships for wrestling would take place in Nandini Nagar area of Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district.

Gonda is the stronghold of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the former Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj constituency.

Stating that Sanjay Singh’s announcement was hasty, the ministry had noted that the work of the federation was being carried out from the premises controlled by...

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