New Delhi: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has lost its membership in the United World Wrestling (UWW), the global governing body of the sport. The reason for this is the failure to hold elections within 45 days as per the UWW’s directive. The WFI elections were scheduled to take place on August 12, but they were halted by the Punjab-Haryana High Court a day before the voting. This means that Indian wrestlers will not be able to represent their country at the upcoming World Championships.
The Indian wrestlers will have to participate as ‘neutral athletes’ in the Olympic-qualifying world championships that will begin on September 16. This is because the ad hoc committee led by Bhupinder Singh Bajwa, which was appointed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on April 27, could not conduct the WFI elections within the stipulated time. The UWW had warned the WFI on April 28 that it could face suspension if it did not respect the deadline for holding elections. “The UWW informed the ad-hoc committee on Wednesday night that the WFI has been suspended for not conducting its executive committee elections,” a source from the IOA told the media
