New Delhi: Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt termed Thursday the suspension of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) by the international body as ‘very distressing’. Two-time Asian Games gold winner Kartar Singh said the suspension will have ‘huge ramifications’ on India’s prospects in major international tournaments.
UWW, the world governing body for wrestling, suspended Wednesday the WFI for not conducting its elections on time. This development will not allow Indian grapplers to compete at the upcoming World Championships under the Indian flag.
The Indian wrestlers will have to compete as ‘neutral athletes’ at the Olympic-qualifying World Championships, starting September 16. This is because the ad-hoc panel, led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa, did not honour the 45-day deadline for conducting the elections.
Terming the developments as ‘sad’, Yogeshwar hoped a quick solution could be found to the crisis. “It is a very sad thing for Indians in general and wrestlers in particular. If we talk about wrestling in the last 6-7 months, the sport has been earning a bad name (kushti badnaam hui hai); be it trials or the case of sexual harassment (shoshan ka mamla),” Yogeshwar Dutt, the 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist stated.
“When you talk about suspension of WFI, we have to note that the Asian Games and World Championships are round the corner. Even if our wrestlers win there, our country will suffer because the quota will go to some other nation. It will be a huge loss,” Yogeshwar added.
The former grappler hoped for a quick remedy to the crisis and added that only a democratically-elected WFI was the solution. “I just hope there is a quick solution to the crisis. I suppose elections are the one and only option to resolve the issue. So, elections should be held as quickly as possible, so that wrestlers can also train properly,” Yogeshwar asserted.
Yogeshwar urged the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the UWW to find a quick solution to the issue. “The IOA is discussing the issue with UWW and ‘koshish’ (effort) will be that wrestles play under the Indian flag,” he said.
Crisis ruining careers, says Kartar
Kartar said the crisis can have irreparable damage to Indian wrestling. “It is a very big development. Already the election process has been delayed for so long. Delay after delay holding elections is not good. I suppose the next date for hearing is August 28. If that happens, fine. But if something doesn’t come out even then, then it will cause irreparable loss to India wrestling,” Kartar pointed out.
“Major events are lined up one after the other. Wrestlers are languishing for last 7-8 months, it is really sad,” added the Asian Games gold medallist.
Kartar said the developments are having a negative effect on upcoming wrestlers. “Don’t know where this fight started and where it will lead us to in the end. Children look forward to U-15, U-17, U-20 championships. They get certificates, jobs, someone gets scholarship, the foundation of wrestling in India is built like that,” Kartar pointed out. “Someone or the other is knocking on the door of the courts. We are not being able to resolve domestic issues, leave alone international performance,” he lamented.
Kartar said the developments will have a huge impact in medals in international arena, including the Asian Games in September. “Of course, it (suspension) will have an impact. When your house is not in order, you cannot think what you have to do,” Kartar signed off.