Sanjay Singh, the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), has made a definitive statement regarding the Olympic trials, emphasising that only the champions from the senior wrestling nationals in Pune will be considered. In an interview with the Indian Express on January 29, Singh expressed his commitment to this decision, highlighting the importance of the Pune event in selecting India's Olympic contenders.
"Our winners come from 25 state units, and there are wrestlers who need jobs and our certificates will help them. Those who are already employed with Railways and Services already have jobs and didn’t need to compete here (in Pune) so they didn’t care. In all this, the ones suffering are wrestlers competing in Pune. But I promise that those who go for the Olympics will be from the Pune Nationals only," Singh stated, underscoring his stance on the matter.
The wrestling community currently faces a peculiar situation with two senior nationals being held just weeks apart – one organized by an ad-hoc panel in Jaipur and the other by the suspended WFI in Pune. This dichotomy has raised questions about the representation of wrestlers at the Olympics.
Addressing queries about the involvement of former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the federation's activities, Sanjay Singh clarified, "He is just an ex-president. He's taken sanyaas from wrestling. There’s no involvement as an office bearer." Singh's appointment as WFI president had previously stirred controversy due to his close association with Brij Bhushan.
Furthermore, Singh responded to concerns regarding the safety of female wrestlers in the wake of sexual allegations against Brij Bhushan during the latter's tenure. "Yes, there are concerns but that is why we have appointed a sexual harassment committee at WFI," he assured, highlighting measures taken for the welfare of athletes.
Singh also revealed that discussions are ongoing with the Sports Ministry to lift the suspension of the WFI, expressing optimism about regaining authority within the next ten days.