Wrestlers End Protest, But Confusion & Delays in Indian Wrestling Continue

The Gauhati High Court has put a stay on the 11 July election of the Wrestling Federation of India.

(Photo: PTI)

No rose was ever made without thorns. On a day when India’s top wrestlers announced that they would now confine their fight for justice in the Courts of Law and not resort to public protests, came word that the Gauhati High Court had stayed the elections of the Wrestling Federation of India on a plea by the Assam Wrestling Association (AWA).

It is in India’s greatest interest that the best available athletes, chosen through a fair and transparent policy, represent the country in all competitions. The protesting wrestlers’ decision to return to the mat and leave their lawyers to fight the battles in court has to be welcomed since it will allow fans of Indian sport to believe that they are being represented by the best.

Wrestlers Need Smooth Transition Back

Indeed, it is just as well that the wrestlers have finally heeded advice and not only returned to training but also decided to restrict their fight against officials of the Wrestling Federation of India in Court rather than continue it as a public movement, involving political leaders, Khap Panchayats, farmers’ unions and the likes.

Many stood by the protesting wrestlers but now the athletes must be provided the best support possible to get themselves in the right frame of mind to compete at the highest level, with the Paris Olympics now just a year away. Whether it is the Ad-Hoc Committee running the sport currently or the the Indian Olympic Association or the Sports Authority of India or some NGO, the ecosystem must assist them on their journey back to the top.

There are two big ticket Wrestling events from September 16 to 24 and from October 4 to 7, the World Championships in Belgrade and the Asian Games in Hangzhou respectively, both offering berths in the Olympic Games in Paris next year. For each of the 18 weight categories in Paris 2024, there are five berths available in Belgrade and two in Hangzhou.

We do not know yet what the Olympic Council of Asia’s response would be to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Joint Secretary Kalyan Chaubey’s request of 16 June to allow IOA to send the final entries by name for the Asian Games wrestling competition to 15 August instead of the 20 July deadline set by the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee.

Assam Wrestling Association's Sudden Interest to Return to WFI Fold

Meanwhile, it will not escape anyone’s attention that it was not until Sunday that AWA moved the Gauhati High Court, though it was way back in 15 November, 2014, that the WFI Executive Committee recommended AWA admission into the WFI fold. The High Court's Sunday order also mentions an email of 23 May, 2019, acknowledging AWA efforts to secure affiliation.

Even a cursory glance at the documents posted by the WFI Returning Office will indicate that there has been no attempt by AWA to impress on either the Ad Hoc Committee or the Returning Officer to include its representatives in the Electoral College. The direct application before a High Court on a Sunday indicates a tactical ploy to delay the election process further.

It is also hard to ignore that the AWA plea is aimed only at being part of the WFI Electoral College and the idea of the Assam wrestlers being deprived of representation in the WFI National Championships has come as a mere after-thought. AWA should have been pressing for its athletes to be allowed to represent the State in the National Championships across age-groups.

Other State Units Protesting, But to Designated Returning Officer

The Returning Officer, former Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court MM Kumar already deferred the election from 6 July to 11 July after the IOA-appointed Ad-Hoc Committee member Bhupender Singh Bajwa and IOA Joint Secretary Kalyan Chaubey both pleaded for time to resolve disputes in some State Wrestling Associations and streamline the democratic representations.

It would appear that these, involving the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana have remained unresolved. Curiously, it was not the affected parties from any of these States that moved Court but the Assam Wrestling Association, through the State’s Advocate General and an Assam Government Finance Department Standing Counsel.

It is imperative that the sport gets an elected body at the helm of affairs sooner than later. For, it is clear that further delays in the election of the WFI Executive Committee will only lead to greater confusion. A good example of the IOA-appointed Ad-Hoc Committee’s inability to handle the challenges can be seen in how it has planned the selection process for the major events.

That the Ad Hoc Committee chose to declare a two-stage trial process, favouring six wrestlers, led to a chorus of protests by others. It would seem that the Ad Hoc Committee did not even consult the coaches on the panel before deciding on the selection procedure. If India’s Wrestling is to be saved from being overwhelmed by such bungling, it must trust an elected body to administer it.

Of course, there should never be any doubt that all sport, not just Wrestling, must offer psychologically safe environments for its stakeholders. There is no question that Indian sport must embrace professionalism all across so that the dream of rising to the top 10 in the Olympic Games medal charts comes true.

Sadly, Indian sport has ended up being on the losing side. In fact, there have been no winners.