IOA Asks WFI Secretary General To Hand Over Official Documents To Ad-Hoc Panel

An IOA official also made it clear that the move should not be seen as dissolution of the Federation.

WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

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The Indian Olympics Association has asked the secretary general of the Wrestling Federation of India to hand over the official documents including financial instruments to its ad-hoc panel and made it clear that the outgoing office bearers shall have no role in the running of the federation. As per a report by news agency PTI, the wrestling body said it has no issues in obeying the IOA order since they were already co-operating with the authorities.

An IOA official also made it clear that the move should not be seen as dissolution of the Federation.

"Once the elections will be held, the administrative powers will go back to the WFI. The newly elected officials will run the show. It's just a temporary move that ad-hoc is managing the affairs of the Federation," the official told the news agency.

An ad-hoc committee has been formed by the IOA to manage the day-to-day affairs of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and also conduct due polls of the NSF.

The ad-hoc committee was formed by the IOA at the behest of the Sports Ministry after several top wrestlers returned to the protest site at Jantar Mantar here last month, demanding the arrest of WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for allegedly sexually harassing women grapplers.

On Friday, the IOA issued a letter saying that all administrative, financial and regulatory roles will now be performed by the ad-hoc committee.

"In pursuance of the above (order of the IOA dated May 12, 2023), it is hereby clarified that the Ad Hoc Committee appointed by the IOA for the discipline of Wrestling shall carry out all the duties and responsibilities of the National Sports Federation (WFI) as enunciated in the Sports Code.

"With the Ad hoc Committee being in existence, the outgoing office bearers of the WFI shall have no role with respect to the exercise of any function of the NSF for discipline of Wrestling and shall not perform any administrative, financial, regulatory or any other role," said the IOA letter, which has also been marked to the ministry and the WFI secretary general.