Sanjay Singh, a close aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the BJP MP accused of sexually abusing female athletes, took complete control of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Monday.
This comes after the government suspended the Sanjay-led WFI executive committee and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) declared it will dissolve the three-member ad hoc committee "with immediate effect."
The development implies that Sanjay, whose election they opposed, would take over the regulations that might make or break the dreams of wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, who have been leading demonstrations against the WFI and its former president, Brij Bhushan, to compete in the Paris Olympics.
IOA’s Statement on Sanjay Singh
The IOA stated that the decision was made in response to the United World Wrestling (UWW) removing its suspension on the WFI last month and the successful conclusion of the selection trials for the Paris Olympic qualification tournaments.
An IOA order that was also copied to the Secretary of the Sports Ministry stated, "There is no longer need for running the activities of the WFI through an Adhoc Committee in light of the aforementioned developments."
The IOA judgment includes two requirements, which are similar to those required by the UWW. The first is that the WFI needs to "appoint a safeguarding committee/officer at the earliest to address concerns of abuse and harassment," it stated in its decision. The second, according to the IOA, is to "conduct the elections of the Athletes Commission," nullifying the previous appointment of bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt to lead the body.
While stating that he will accept the demands of the IOA and UWW, Sanjay stated "This comes as a comfort to me personally. I can now concentrate on wrestling-related matters and figure out how to make sure we can medal at the Olympics in Paris”
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