Sanjay Singh, Brij Bhushan’s close aide, gets control of Wrestling Federation of India as ad-hoc committee dissolved

Sanjay Singh – a close aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the BJP MP accused of sexually harassing women athletes – will assume full charge of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) starting Monday.

This comes after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced it would dissolve ‘with immediate effect’ the three-member ad-hoc committee, formed under the instructions of the government after it suspended the Sanjay-led WFI executive committee.

The development means the rules that could make or break the Paris Olympics ambitions of Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, the two wrestlers at the forefront of protests against the WFI and its former president Brij Bhushan, will be taken by Sanjay, whose election they opposed.

The IOA said the decision was taken in response to the United World Wrestling (UWW) lifting its ban on the WFI last month and the ‘successful completion’ of the selection trials for the Paris Olympics qualification tournaments.

”Consequent upon the aforementioned developments, there is no further need for running the activities of the WFI through an Adhoc Committee,” an IOA order, also copied to the Secretary, Sports Ministry, read.

The IOA’s decision comes with two conditions, similar to what the UWW demanded. The first, it added in its order, is that the WFI must ‘appoint a safeguarding committee/officer at the earliest to address concerns of abuse and harassment…’ The second, the IOA said, is to ‘conduct the elections of the Athletes Commission’, thus rendering the earlier election of London Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt as its chairman null and void.

While saying he would meet the demands of the IOA and UWW, Sanjay told The Indian Express: “This comes as a relief for me, personally. Now, I can focus on wrestling affairs and see what can be done to ensure we can win a medal at the Paris Olympics.”

The decision means the WFI will once again be in complete control of administration and management of the day-to-day wrestling activities in the country. Sanjay was elected as WFI president, succeeding Brij Bhushan, in December last year.

The story so far

However, three days after his election, the government ‘abstained’ him and the newly-elected committee from performing their duties, alleging that the WFI affairs were being conducted from Brij Bhushan’s premises in New Delhi “wherein sexual harassment of players has been alleged” and he “appears to be in complete control”.

Sanjay denied Brij Bhushan had any influence on the WFI’s working and said the federation office has been moved out from his official residence. In the immediate future, Sanjay will have to address a few topics that will be of significance with regard to the team selection for the Paris Olympics.

Vinesh’s selection in the 50 kg weight class for the Asian and World Olympic qualifiers has been challenged by fellow wrestlers in that category. When asked about his views on the controversy that erupted after Vinesh competed in two weight classes, Sanjay said, without elaborating: “We have sent everything from our side to the UWW. They will take whatever decision has to be taken.”

Sanjay added that doors are not shut on the two Tokyo Olympics medallists, silver-winner Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang, who won bronze, after their below-par show at the selection trials earlier this month. “They should keep preparing. The road is open for every athlete. They have to show their strengths on the mat.”

The road to Paris for Bajrang, Ravi, Antim Panghal – the only Indian wrestler who has so far won an Olympic quota – and others will depend on the selection policy that the WFI finalises.

As per the ad-hoc committee’s rules, no one – including the quota winner – was guaranteed a spot in the Olympics-bound contingent. Every wrestler, they said, would have to appear in final selection trials, which were scheduled to be held in May-June.

Sanjay said they would ‘look at the rules formed by the ad-hoc committee’. “But we will consult our selection committee. We will conduct our AGM and executive committee meeting (on March 29), when the issue of whether to have selection trials for the Paris Olympics will be discussed,” he said.

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