Wrestling Federation of India’s suspension by the world body is a warning for governing bodies of sports to put their house in order
A sport that has won India medals at each of the last four Olympics finds itself in a seemingly irrevocable downward spiral. Since the start of the year — when the country’s top wrestlers launched protests against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh — the sport has been stumbling from one controversy to another. On Thursday, it touched another low after the United World Wrestling (UWW) suspended the WFI for failing to conduct its elections.
For months, the world body had been urging India’s top sports administrators to set the WFI’s house in order. They threatened to suspend India in June and followed up again in July. However, owing to factionalism within Indian wrestling, the courts stayed the elections and the UWW ran out of patience, finally putting their words into action.
On the face of it, the WFI’s suspension does not immediately impact the wrestlers. They can continue to participate in international tournaments, with the World Championships — a Paris Olympics qualifier — around the corner. But even as the wrestlers give their all to the game, they won’t be allowed to display the tricolour on their jerseys. India’s flag won’t fly at major events and the national anthem will not be played if they finish on top of the podium. Once again, the ineptness of sports officials is the cause of international embarrassment for India. It must be noted, though, that the suspension will not impact Indian wrestlers at the Asian Games in any way.
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Alas, wrestling isn’t the only federation with administrative issues. Just last year, world football’s governing body, FIFA, suspended India for not conducting timely elections while the International Olympic Committee and International Hockey Federation threatened to ban their corresponding Indian bodies for the same reasons.
In June 2020, the government was forced to withdraw recognition of 54 national federations for not complying with the Sports Code and last year, the Delhi High Court pulled up nearly two dozen bodies for flouting rules. Wrestling, in that sense, is one among the many federations caught in the unholy web of sports and politics.
Worryingly, there is no immediate end in sight to the saga but the officials must find a way to quickly resolve the mess. The longer the suspension lasts, the more it will impact the sport — invitations to international tournaments will reduce, funding from the world body will take a hit and the wrestlers, in the long run, will be the ultimate losers.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
First published on: 28-08-2023 at 07:00 IST
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