United World Wrestling moves Senior Asian meet out of India due to sexual harassment complaint against WFI chief

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 23

In a big setback to the efforts done by the oversight committee formed to run day-to-day affairs of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), the United World Wrestling has shifted the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships from New Delhi to Astana, Kazakhstan.

The tournament was slated to be held in India from March 28. However, now it will be held from April 7 to 15.

The UWW took this extreme step after taking cognizance of the pending sexual harassment and financial irregularity complaint filed against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

“The United World Wrestling has moved the Asian Championships to Astana, Kazakhstan. The tournament, originally scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India from March 28 to April 2, will now take place in the Kazakhstan capital between April 7-15 with final dates to be confirmed,” the UWW said in a statement on Thursday.

“UWW was forced to change the host of the continental championships due to the recent developments in Indian wrestling and a pending inquiry by the Indian sports ministry against the Wrestling Federation of India,” the statement further said.

The oversight committee had approached the UWW about its willingness to host the event in India and was hopeful of a positive result. In the letter they requested to move the dates as the event may clash with the Women’s World Boxing Championships that is being held in the same venue, the Indira Gandhi Stadium from March 15.

The wrestlers shocked the world when they sat on a three-day sit-in dharna alleging that Singh had sexually harassed few of the women wrestlers.

The senior Asian Wrestling championship is the second tournament of repute that has come under the cloud of the ongoing investigation currently done by the six member committee that is headed by six-time World Champions MC Mary Kom.

The prominent protesting wrestlers – Bajrang (65kg), Ravi Kumar (61kg), Jitender (79kg) and Vinesh Phogat (53kg) and Sangeeta Phogat (62kg), Anshu Malik (57kg) and Sangeeta Mor (59kg), sat out of the Zagreb Open Ranking Series due to the complaint.