New Delhi: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) plans to organise a national camp for senior wrestlers once trials are concluded to select players for the Asian Wrestling Championships and the continental Olympic qualifier.
The Asian championships and the Olympic qualifier will be held in Kyrgyzstan’s capital city Bishkek from April 11-16 and April 19-21, respectively.
The WFI hasn’t organised national camps since January 2023 when top wrestlers including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Geeta Phoghat accused then president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual exploitation of female wrestlers.
Delay in conducting elections led to WFI’s suspension by the United World Wrestling (UWW) and once it was held, the new panel led by Sanjay Singh was suspended by the sports ministry.
An ad-hoc panel that ran the day-to-day affairs of Indian wrestling conducted a training camp for men in Rohtak and women in Patiala before conducting its own Nationals in Jaipur.
After reinstatement of its powers by the UWW, the WFI is preparing to hold a senior national camp after almost 15 months, identifying Delhi as the venue in place of Patiala due to the ongoing farmers’ protest.
“After we conduct these trials, the top-four in each category will be invited to be part of the National camp. We have not yet finalised the venues for the camps,” WFI president Sanjay Singh, who is accused being a Brij Bhushan lackey, told PTI.
He added that four topmost wrestlers at the Jaipur and Pune Nationals, conducted by the ad-hoc panel and the WFI respectively, were invited to compete in the trials, with provision to include those who did not compete in either Nationals.
The WFI also plans to organise the U-15 and U-20 Nationals from March 28 to 30 in Noida with its winners, finalists and the other two semi-finalists be asked the join the national camp.
