CHENNAI: Earlier this month, a Greco-Roman wrestler from Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB), who was representing Rajasthan in the senior national championships in Bengaluru, got a few calls after he won the first bout. He was instructed to pull out of the tournament as the RSPB has not given him a no-objection certificate (NOC) to compete in the championships.
A few Railway wrestlers though represented their home states and even won medals but a majority of them were deprived of the nationals organised by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for the second straight year.
The same was the case last year as well. Repercussions for non-participation, however, could be more this time as in 2023 two nationals were organised — one by the WFI and other by the ad-hoc committee. The second one was hosted by the RSPB and hence their wrestlers got a tournament even if they were not allowed to compete in the WFI’s event.
Besides, winners of Railway nationals were considered for future events given the situation at that time. It may not be the case now and this can affect Railway, who employs the country's top wrestlers, badly.
“It’s sad but wrestlers who didn’t compete in Bengaluru nationals would not be considered for upcoming camps and tournaments,” Sanjay Kumar Singh, WFI president, told this daily. The deadlock between the RSPB and WFI is an open secret and what makes it more intriguing is the fact that unlike Railways, the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) competed at the championships. Both RSPB and SSCB are members of the WFI. Interestingly, RSPB secretary Prem Chand Lochab is also the secretary-general of the WFI.
It all started last year in January when the country’s top wrestlers — Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and multiple World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat — staged a protest against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh accusing him of sexual harassment. A lot has happened since then with Brij Bhushan being sidelined, Sakshi announcing her retirement and Bajrang and Vinesh joining politics ahead of the Haryana assembly elections. Despite all these changes, the sorry state of affairs in wrestling continues and the Bengaluru tournament exemplified it.
“The protest caused irreparable damage to wrestling in the country. The biggest impact was reflected on the Indian wrestlers’ show at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Had it not happened, Indian wrestlers would have won at least four medals but unfortunately only one medal could be earned,” lamented Sanjay Singh.
It’s usual for national sports federations (NSFs) to predict medals before every Olympics but not all of them are always on the mark. However, the negative impact of the unrest was clearly visible as only one freestyle wrestler, Aman Sehrawat, managed to qualify for the Paris Games. Since the 2004 Olympics, at least three or more men wrestlers (freestyle and Greco-Roman) have qualified for the Olympics but the number took a nosedive ahead of the 2024 Olympics thus affecting India’s medal chances at the quadrennial event.
Vinesh, other women wrestlers create history
The protest centered around harassment of women wrestlers but that could not prevent them from shining on the mat. They created history when a record five women grapplers including the torchbearer of the protest, Vinesh, qualified for the Games. Vinesh not only qualified but set the stage on fire by bulldozing her opponents on her way to the 50kg final. Unfortunately, she was found to be overweight ahead of the summit clash, ending her hopes and country’s dream of an Olympic gold.
Besides, wrestlers in various age groups continued their dominant show, highlighting all is not lost. “Age group wrestlers were not involved in the protest so they did well last year and this year too. Our next crop is talented and I am confident everything will be back on track once the issue with the sports ministry is resolved,” signed off the WFI president. Notably, the WFI was suspended by the ministry last year soon after the elections and the matter is pending in the court.
Long road ahead
Sanjay Singh might be hopeful but unending litigations and suspension by the sports ministry meant WFI is like a toothless tiger at the moment. It cannot hold camps and has to arrange funds to organise national tournaments. The federation that has given at least a medal in each Olympics since 2008 has to run from pillar to post to send its team for any international tournaments. It’s been quite some time since a foreign coach has been hired to hone the skills of Indian wrestlers. Performances of promising wrestlers like Anshu Malik, Antim Panghal have been below par for the past two years. Even as other sports have their respective leagues, WFI’s Pro Wrestling League, despite successful four seasons since its inception in 2015, remains inoperative. With controversies surrounding the sport more often than not, sponsors have distanced themselves from wrestling.
All these paint a grim picture of the sport. A lot has to be done to bring back the good old days but at the moment, wrestling in the country is suffering and so are the wrestlers and other stakeholders.