The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has named Bhupinder Singh Bajwa as the head of the newly established ad-hoc committee responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), effective immediately as of Wednesday.
The IOA released a letter about the matter following the suspension of the entire governing council of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) by the Union sports ministry.
On Sunday, the Union sports ministry had directed the IOA to establish a temporary committee to oversee and regulate the operations of the WFI.
"Elections to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) were held on 21 December 2023, in which Sanjay Kumar Singh was elected as President and Prem Chand Lochab as Secretary General amongst other office bearers of the Executive Committee of Wrestling Federation of India (WFT)," an official letter from IOA read.
The letter further read, "The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has recently become aware that the recently appointed President and officials of WFI have made arbitrary decisions in violation of their own constitutional provisions and against the principles of good governance espoused by IOC and further without following due process overturned the rulings of the IOA- appointed Ad hoc Committee. This not only highlights a governance gap within the Federation but also signifies a noticeable departure from established norms."
In a significant move, the Union Sports Ministry has suspended the wrestling federation and all its office-bearers following renewed protests by prominent wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia. This decision comes after the election of a close associate of the deposed WFI president as the new head of the federation.
"The IOA considers adherence to governance norms as vital for ensuring fair play. transparency, and accountability and to safeguard the interests of the sportspersons as espoused by IOC and to ensure continuity, it has been decided to appoint an Ad hoc committee comprising of following with immediate effect," the letter further mentioned.
The ad hoc committee was established by the IOA in response to the ministry's request on Wednesday. MM Somaya and Manjusha Kanwar will support Bajwa in managing the WFI as part of the newly formed ad hoc committee.
The temporary committee has been assigned the responsibility of monitoring and managing the operations of WFI. This includes selecting athletes, entering them into international events, coordinating sports activities, managing finances, overseeing the website, and other associated duties.