Sanjay Singh to take 'legal advice if...': WFI chief says after suspension

Wrestling Federation of India president Sanjay Singh expressed his disagreement after the Union sports ministry suspended the newly-elected panel.

In a chat with NDTV, he said, 'We will speak to the government first and, if that does not work, I will take legal advice to save my federation. The allegation is that we took the decision to hold the nationals in haste, but it was decided upon after meeting the quorum requirements. The annual general meeting was held and every state had two delegates present for voting.'

'The delegates of all states decided that if the national championships were not held in this calendar year, the future of the wrestlers would be ruined. The certificates that they get are used by them for admissions and jobs, and that is why the decision was taken,' he claimed.

WFI was suspended after just 3 days of the election results. Announcing the suspension, the sports ministry had said the newly elected body 'appears to be (in) complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code.'

In those 3 days, Olympic medallist Sakshee Malikkh hung up her boots and Bajrang Punia had returned his Padma Shri.

The Sports Ministry then asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to set up an ad-hoc panel to manage the day-to-day affairs at the WFI.