Sports Ministry declares upcoming May 7 WFI elections null and void

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Monday, declared the Wrestling Federation of India election to be conducted on May 7 as “null and void”.

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik | Photo Credit:  R V Moorthy

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Monday, declared the Wrestling Federation of India election to be conducted on May 7 as “null and void”.

MYAS has written a letter to the Indian Olympic Association requesting “a transitory or Ad-Hoc committee of the IOA to be formed to hold WFI elections within 45 days of the formation of the committee.”

The letter also mentioned the findings of the Oversight Committee (OC) formed after allegations of sexual harassment, financial mismanagement and arbitrariness in the federation.

OC findings have revealed that there was no proper Internal Complaints Committee of the WFI and that there was no adequate mechanism for grievance redressal, need for transparency, effective communication and consultation between WFI and the sportspersons.

In response to the letter, PT Usha, the President of IOA, tweeted, “In light of the letter received from GoI-MYAS, IOA undertakes the urgency of the matter. Our scheduled EC meet on 27 April will discuss & provide actionable solutions to the current impasse in WFI. IOA is committed to the betterment of our sportspersons & its sporting ecosystem.”