Guwahati, Aug 24: World wrestling body, the United World Wrestling (UWW) has indefinitely suspends membership of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) over failure to hold elections in time.
The WFI’s membership was suspended because of the lack of elections in the organisation. Elections were supposed to be held in June 2023, but they were postponed.
WFI was suspended first in January and then again in May 2023. WFI has been in controversy after wrestlers protested against then chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who was accused of sexually harassing some female wrestlers.
The decision acts as a massive setback for the sport in the country, with India's wrestlers now facing the prospect of competing under a neutral flag.
Earlier this year, UWW had announced that the Asian Wrestling Championships 2023, which were to be held in New Delhi, were relocated to Astana, Kazakhstan “due to the recent developments in Indian wrestling and a pending inquiry by the Indian sports ministry against the Wrestling Federation of India”.
World Championship trials were to be held in Patiala on August 25 and 26. Their fate is unclear at the moment.
