New Delhi: The new Wrestling Federation of India body, under the leadership of Sanjay Singh, has been suspended by the Sports Ministry. The ministry announced its decision on Sunday, 24 December citing that the WFI body had shown complete disregard for the existing rules and regulations.
In an official release, the Sports Ministry said that the announcement for national competitions was hasty and that due process was not followed.
Sanjay’s appointment as the new WFI chief has seen an uptick in the ongoing turmoil in Indian wrestling. It started off with Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik announcing her decision to retire from the sport. It was followed by yet another Olympic champion, Bajrang Punia, returning the Padma Shri award, that was bestowed upon him in 2019.
Speaking on the widespread unrest and the uproar surrounding his appointment and the ties that he has with Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Sanjay, mentioned, “Those who are athletes have already started preparing and those who want to engage in politics can do that. It is their personal matter, I will not speak about this.”
“I have been in the federation for 12 years. Just because I am close to MP (Brij Bhushan) does not mean I am a dummy candidate. Is it a crime if I am close to him?”
