CHENNAI: In their bid to qualify for lower-age group competitions and gain undue advantage, up and coming wrestlers have come up with unique ways to reduce their age. Their bids, however, have seemingly been foiled (at least for the time being) as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has temporarily suspended one of them and is set to initiate appropriate disciplinary proceedings against six others in accordance with the Federation's rules and regulations.
In one such case, the national sports federation, much to its amusement, found that a 12-year-old wrestler in question has used the birth registration number of a child, who will turn four this September, to obtain a fake certificate.
"When we tried to verify the document through the application number or other particulars, we cannot find the birth certificate online. However, when we used the registration number, we found that the birth certificate pertains to a child who was born on September 20, 2021," a WFI source told this daily.
In another case, a female wrestler submitted a birth certificate issued by the Office of the Cantonment Board, New Delhi. When enquired, the Cantonment Board confirmed that no such certificate has been issued by it. Birth certificates of at least two women wrestlers have been found fake so far.
The wrestler, who has been temporarily suspended, was found to have two birth certificates - one obtained from Haryana and another from Delhi. The former certificate mentions his birth year as 2006 while the latter says he was born in 2009.
"As of now, the WFI has temporarily suspended him and upon receiving officials, response, the federation will initiate strict disciplinary action as per the rules and regulations," said a WFI official pleading anonymity.
In most of the cases, athletes born in Haryana had procured birth certificates from Delhi. "A significant surge has been noticed in this trend, which suggests a possible deliberate attempt to manipulate the date of birth, presumably to reduce their age and qualify for participation in lower age group categories in competitive sports. Sometimes we receive a complaint and on other occasions, upon verifications of other details, we initiate enquiry due to reasonable doubts. This will continue as the WFI is committed to curb age fraud and prevent other clean athletes from suffering because of the menace," added the official.
Earlier, the federation ahead of the 2025 Junior National Wrestling Championship had issued guidelines to keep a check on age fraud. "All affiliated units of the Wrestling Federation of India are hereby requested to strictly adhere to the following guidelines while selecting wrestlers for the 2025 Junior National Wrestling Championship to be held at Kota, Rajasthan from 20th to 22nd April 2025: 1. No overage wrestlers must be considered for selection in the Junior Wrestling Team; 2. Birth Certificates of all selected wrestlers must be thoroughly checked and verified before allowing participation; 3. Birth certificates issued after a significant delay (e.g., 10–15 years post birth) shall not be accepted unless accompanied by valid legal or medical documentation substantiating the delay," read the guidelines.
