Amid escalating unrest in the wrestling fraternity in India, the Indian wrestlers can now breathe a sigh of relief after the United World Wrestling (UWW) announced on Tuesday (February 13) that they are lifting the suspension placed on Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) with immediate effect.
On August 23, 2023, UWW temporarily suspended the WFI since the Indian organization had not called an election promptly.
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Because the situation in the federation had persisted for at least six months, the UWW Disciplinary Chamber determined that it had sufficient justification to impose the temporary suspension on the body.
MORE: Why did the Sports Ministry suspend Wrestling Federation of India?
United World Wrestling impose conditions of Wrestling Federation of India
In their official press release, the UWW listed conditions based on which the UWW Bureau - which met on February 9 to review the WFI's suspension - lifted the sanction.
The WFI has to re-convene the elections of its Athletes’ Commission. The candidates for this commission shall be active athletes or retired for no longer than four years. The voters shall be exclusively athletes. These elections shall take place during trials or any senior national championships where this operation can take place, but no later than July 1, 2024.
The WFI has to immediately provide UWW with written guarantees that all wrestlers will be considered for participation without any discrimination in all WFI events, in particular trials for the Olympic Games and any other major national and international events. This non-discrimination includes the three athletes who protested against alleged wrongdoings by the former President.
UWW remains in touch with the wrestlers and will follow up with them in the coming days.
The news comes as a huge boost for the Indian wrestlers, who will now be able to participate at the upcoming UWW event by representing the Indian flag. In the previous UWW event, the Indian wrestlers participated under a UWW flag.
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