Indian Olympic Association dissolves ad hoc committee for wrestling

“The decision to dissolve the Adhoc Committee comes in light of the lifting of the ban on the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) by the United World Wrestling (UWW) and the successful completion of Selection Trials by the Adhoc Committee appointed by the IOAas per directives of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi,” IOA order mentioned. “Consequent upon the aforementioned developments, there isn’t any additional want of operating the actions of the WFI by way of an Adhoc Committee.

“However, as instructed by the UWW, it is imperative that the WFI appoint a Safeguarding Committee/Officer at the earliest to address the concerns of abuse and harassment and to ensure adherence to all rules, regulations and guidelines set forth by the UWW and other relevant authorities. Furthermore, the WFI is also directed to conduct the election of the Athletes Commission in a time-bound manner, in accordance with the established procedures and guidelines. This step is essential to promote athlete representation and participation in the decision-making processes of the WFI.” 

After the UWW’s ban for not conducting the elections on time, the centre stepped in and instructed the IOA to type an ad-hoc panel to supervise all of the operations at WFI on December 27, 2023. Indian wrestlers additionally participated within the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou beneath the UWW flag.

The ad hoc committee led by chairman Bhupender Singh Bajwa just lately carried out the choice trials for the Asian Championships and Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Kyrgyzstan subsequent month after the WFI president Sanjay Singh-led panel backed out on its choice to conduct trials.