NANDINI NAGAR (GONDA): It was in 2018 that the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) decided to put stringent measures in place to curb the menace of fake birth certificates and domiciles. The federation started the drive with the U15 age-group wrestlers and what followed next shocked them as well. A lot of upcoming wrestlers were found to be overaged. It was also revealed that most of them had also obtained forged documents to change their domiciles.
Gradually, the WFI extended it to all age groups, including seniors. Strict vigil and intense investigation found that quite a few wrestlers, mostly from Haryana, had been procuring birth certificates and domiciles from Begampur in Narela Zone and Suleman Nagar of Rohini Zone in New Delhi.
The WFI also made it mandatory for wrestlers to submit their Aadhaar cards to participate in the national tournaments. By 2020, the federation started tightening the noose on the wrestlers, who were representing states other than of their birth. The drive started bearing the fruits with 700-plus wrestlers being caught in the last few months for allegedly obtaining birth certificates from New Delhi. A majority of them were born in Haryana. They apparently decided to move to Delhi due to intense competition in their native state.
"The WFI didn't ban these wrestlers. Instead, we asked them to return to their native state," a WFI official told this daily. And the after-effects of the drive was on full display here at Nandini Nagar, Gonda (Uttar Pradesh) on the inaugural day of the 2026 Senior National Ranking Tournament.
Around 590 wrestlers took part in the men's freestyle competitions on Day 1 and nearly 470 among them were from Haryana. A closer look at a few weight categories made the picture clearer. In the 70kg weight category, around 45 out of 81 participants were from Haryana, the state considered the hub of Indian wrestling. As many as eight of them were from Delhi. Similarly, the 65kg weight division witnessed participation from around 70 grapplers and 40 of them from Haryana.
"The stiff competition in Haryana forces these wrestlers to move to other states where they can get ample opportunities to compete in the WFI-recognised tournaments. But it also deprives natives of that particular state from competing. The campaign started by the WFI not only prevented the exodus of wrestlers from Haryana but also helped native wrestlers from lesser-known states to compete in the national events," added the source.
With only one wrestler allowed to compete in each weight category at the marquee domestic events like the senior national championships and Federation Cup, those who were made to return to Haryana by the WFI could not make it to the state team for such events. The ranking series gave them a platform to showcase their skills and they apparently grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
"If they medal in the series, they will gain eligibility to compete in selection trials for the 2026 World Championships and Commonwealth Championship. This will also enable the WFI to create a second line of wrestlers, who can replace the seniors in case of emergency like injuries," added the source.
The same phenomenon could be witnessed when the Greco-Roman and women wrestlers take the mat on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Around 500 GR wrestlers have registered for the competition. The strength is only 250 as far as women wrestling is concerned. But it would be no exaggeration if 80 per cent of them turned out to be natives of Haryana.
