Huge relief for wrestlers! UWW lifts WFI suspension; urges written guarantees for non-discrimination

On February 9, the UWW Bureau convened to discuss various matters, including WFI's suspension. After a thorough review of all elements and information available, the Bureau decided to lift the suspension under specific conditions.

On Tuesday, wrestling's world governing body lifted India's provisional suspension but mandated the national federation to furnish written assurances against discriminatory measures targeting the protesting trio of Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Malik. The suspension, initiated by United World Wrestling (UWW) on August 23 last year, stemmed from the national federation's failure to conduct timely elections.

"The UWW Bureau met on February 9 to review the suspension among other topics and considering all the elements and information, it decided to lift the suspension," the world body said in a statement.

"The WFI has to immediately provide UWW with written guarantees that all wrestlers will be considered for participation without any discrimination in all WFI events, in particular trials for the Olympic Games and any other major national and international events. This non-discrimination includes the three athletes who protested against alleged wrongdoings by the former President (Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh)," it asserted.

The suspension ensued after a series of protests against the then WFI President over allegations of sexual harassment and corruption. Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat were prominent figures in the protests, often seen publicly demanding action against Singh and expressing their grievances. Legal proceedings against Singh are still underway. With the ban lifted, Indian wrestlers can now participate under the country's flag at the upcoming UWW event.

"The UWW Disciplinary Chamber (on August 23 last year) decided that it had sufficient grounds to impose the provisional suspension on the body as the situation in the federation prevailed for at least six months," the press release stated.

The world body also directed the WFI to reconvene the elections for its Athletes' Commission.

"The candidates for this commission shall be active athletes or retired for no longer than four years. The voters shall be exclusively athletes," it ordered.

"These elections shall take place during trials or any senior national championships where this operation can take place, but no later than July 1, 2024," it added.

The world body stated its intention to maintain communication with the wrestlers and provide updates on the developments in the coming days.

Sanjay Singh, a close associate of the former President, was elected as the new head during the WFI elections held in December last year. However, the federation faced suspension shortly after assuming office by the sports ministry, citing violations of the national sports code. Consequently, an ad-hoc committee was appointed to oversee the sport's affairs.

The WFI contested the sports ministry's decision and has been embroiled in a dispute with the ad-hoc committee. This disagreement resulted in both entities organizing separate national championships recently, leading to confusion within the wrestling community.