CHENNAI: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in its general council meeting held on Saturday removed Prem Chand Lochab from the post of secretary general. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Senior National Championships in Ahmedabad. Incumbent vice-president and Delhi Amateur Wrestling Association chief, Jai Prakash, was made acting secretary of the federation.
Lochab, a former secretary of the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB), was one of the two candidates to win the WFI elections for their respective posts held in December 2023 despite not being from the faction of former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Devender Kadyan was another candidate who was elected as senior vice president. The remaining 13 posts were won by the Brij Bhushan's faction. Lochab, who hails from Rajasthan, had entered the poll fray via Gujarat State Wrestling Association.
"Lochab was served a show cause notice for allegedly being involved in anti-federation activities. He was served two reminders as well to respond but he didn't, following which he was removed from the post. The general council has approved the decision and made Jai Prakash acting secretary general," a WFI source told this daily.
It was also learnt that Kartar Singh, who was elected vice president during the election, too was replaced by VN Prasood. "Kartar Singh represented the Punjab Association and was office-bearer of the state unit at the time of election. Since then, the state body had another election and Kartar Singh is not part of the newly-elected body. So he has been replaced by former WFI secretary general Prasood," added the source.
RSPB 1st in teams ranking
After clinching the men's freestyle team championship on Saturday, the RSPB wrestlers won the men's Greco-Roman championship as well on the final day of the senior nationals on Sunday. They finished second in the women's wrestling. Given their exploits in the three styles over the last three days, the RSPB won the overall team championship title. Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) finished second while Haryana came third.
In the Greco-Roman section, the SSCB wrestlers gave Railway wrestlers a tough fight. Both teams scored a total of 190 points from across the ten weight categories. However, the RSPB were adjudged winners as they won more gold medals. The RSPB Greco-Roman wrestlers won four gold while the SSCB finished with three.
The 10 gold winners of the day were Lalit (55kg), Sahil (60kg), Chetan (63kg), Sachin (67kg), Kuldeep Malik (72kg), Aman (77kg), Prince (82kg), Rohit (87kg), Nitesh (97kg) and Joginder (130kg).
Strict selection trials criteria
The general council of the WFI also framed criteria for selection trials for the upcoming international events. As per the criteria, only medal winners of the senior nationals will be eligible for the trials which will be conducted to select the national teams for the upcoming international meets including the 2026 Asian Games.
"The move aimed at ensuring maximum participation at the senior nationals. Those who miss the tournament intentionally will not be able to stake claims in the national team through selection trials," said the source.
The WFI will also hold the Federation Cup early next year and medallists of the event will also gain eligibility for the trials. "The senior nationals and Federation Cup medallists will be able to appear in the selection trials for the Asian Games. No other wrestler will be allowed to appear in the trials apart from them. Similarly, the general council has also decided that trials will be held to select wrestlers for the Olympics once the nation wins quotas for the quadrennial event through qualifiers," added the source.