WFI elections postponed to July 11

The ad hoc committee responsible to conduct Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections has postponed the polls by five days, committee chairperson Bhupender Singh Bajwa confirmed on Wednesday. The elections, originally scheduled for July 6, will now be held on July 11.

The decision was taken after at least 10 state units raised "a variety of issues" before the ad hoc panel on Wednesday which was supposed to be the last day for state associations to send their nominations for the constitution of the electoral college. The last day to send entries for the electoral college has also been extended from June 21 to midnight of June 25.

"We received complaints from at least 10 state bodies over a variety of issues. Most complaints pertained to affiliation; some bodies said they have been sidelined, some claimed they are the ones recognised by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). We needed more time to study their cases and decide. We want the elections to be completely fair and not draw any criticism from UWW," Bajwa said.

Besides the five disaffiliated states — Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, and Rajasthan — that were called for a meeting by the ad hoc panel, other complainants were Bihar, Tripura, Odisha, Meghalaya, and Assam.

The disgruntled state bodies had also communicated their issues to the IOA that asked the Returning Officer Justice Mahesh Mittal Kumar on Wednesday to listen to the dissatisfied units.

"Everyone was in agreement that the elections should be non-controversial and fair. We decided to hear everyone out and then decide," Bajwa added.

The meeting with the disaffiliated units began at 3 PM in the IOA office and went on for about three hours. "It was a fruitful meeting. Justice Kumar made the disgruntled factions sit together and patiently heard both sides. Then, the ad hoc panel sat for another three hours to discuss the elections," Bajwa informed.

"It was a good meeting. We are satisfied with it," said a representative from one of the disaffiliated units. "Both sides were heard patiently. Each unit was given about 30 minutes to present their case. We were also asked for some documents and told that a decision will be communicated to us in a day or two."

The date to prepare and display the electoral college has also been moved from June 22 to June 28.

The ad hoc panel was also likely to decide on the Asian Games trials on Wednesday but the matter could not be discussed as discussion pertaining to elections consumed most of the time.

"The topic of deciding on the Asiad trials could not be taken up due to lack of time. However, with the postponement of elections, it looks as if the current committee will have to conduct the trials. The new WFI executive will take charge on July 12 at the earliest and they would want to give wrestlers 7-10 days before announcing the trials. The last date to send squads, however, is July 15. The committee is likely to overstay for a few days after elections and leave after conducting trials," a person in the know of things said.

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