United World Wrestling [UWW], the global body for wrestling, lifted its provisional suspension of the Wrestling Federation of India [WFI] recently. The WFI was suspended for nearly six months due to its numerous delays in conducting elections on time.
The suspension's lifting means two things:
(i) Indian wrestlers can now represent the nation at international events and will no longer be considered neutral athletes or compete under the UWW flag
(ii) The WFI is back to being recognized as a member body of the UWW and can administer the day-to-day activities of Indian wrestling
But wait, didn't the Sports Ministry suspend the WFI too?
No, the Sports Ministry suspended the newly-elected board led by Sanjay Singh that was to run WFI, and not the federation itself. They then asked the Indian Olympic Association [IOA] to appoint a three-member ad-hoc panel (comprising Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, MM Somaya and Manjusha Kanwar) to handle the federation's affairs.
Ok, what's the distinction? And why is it important?
Suspending the board vs suspending the federation itself is very distinct. It's important because Singh has proclaimed that UWW's lifting of WFI's suspension means he is back in power at the federation - but the UWW's decision only pertains to the federation as a whole, and not the body that runs it. Hence, since the ad-hoc panel was in power when the UWW decision was made, they ought to remain in charge of what is now an internationally recognized federation again.
So, what's the confusion?
Singh's belief that he has been recognized by UWW means he believes he's back in power at the WFI. Singh has repeatedly stated that the ad-hoc panel has no power and was quoted by PTI as saying "I welcome this decision by UWW. Ad-hoc committee holds no significance now" on the day the WFI's suspension was lifted.
Sources close to the developments suggest Singh feels that since UWW has recognized the WFI, it implies the global body considers his panel as the WFI and not the ad-hoc committee.
What's the next task at hand?
There's a lot of work for the federation to do, none more important than deciding the squad for the Olympic qualifiers and the Paris Olympics itself.
India have sealed just one of the available quotas for the Paris Olympics [Anshu Malik, women's 53kg]. The wrestlers will have two more chances to book their tickets to Paris: at the Asian Olympic Games Qualifiers [April 19-21] and World Olympic Qualifiers [May 9-12].
The WFI now has the task of conducting trials to decide the athletes who will represent the country in these two events. Bajwa had said that the trials would be held between March 10-11, but that was before UWW lifted WFI's suspension.
But whose job is it to conduct the trial?
That is not clear, as of yet. As things stand, the ad-hoc panel has not been withdrawn and hence they remain in power and it is their responsibility to conduct the trials. However, this is something the Sports Ministry will have to clarify at the earliest, to avoid a situation similar to what happened around the senior nationals.
The senior nationals were held by the two factions, a week apart from each other in two venues, and India's wrestlers should not have to go through that ahead of these crucial Olympic qualifiers.
When will this impasse end?
Sources close to the developments have suggested that a meeting is long-due between Singh and the IOA. That meeting, they believe, could potentially reinstate Singh's body and give them the powers to run the WFI and conduct trials at the earliest, provided they adhere to the National Sports Code and meet the conditions put down by the UWW.
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If that happens, though, it is likely that the Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik-led group of wrestlers will continue their protest against Brij Bhushan Singh's closest aides remaining in power at the WFI.