The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Friday decided at its Special General Meeting (SGM) that the federation will start functioning on a “no cost to the government” model if the Sports Ministry does not consider its request to lift the suspension. After the UWW (the sport’s world governing body) lifted the suspension, the WFI convened the SGM in Noida and the IOA also dissolved the task force that managed the affairs of the body.
Both developments pave the way for elected officials to regain control of the federation, although the government has yet to lift its suspension.
The government claimed WFI had violated rules and suspended it three days after polls were held to elect Sanjay Singh as president.
All 25 state associations were present at the extraordinary general meeting although General Secretary Prem Chand Lochab from the rival camps was absent from the meeting.
“We agreed that we will ask the government to lift the suspension. The UWW has already lifted the suspension and the ad hoc committee has been dissolved, so there is no need to continue suspending the agency,” a WFI source told PTI.
“If the ministry does not consider this request and decides not to provide financial assistance, we have unanimously decided that we will start operations without any cost to the government,” the source added.
The government subsidizes wrestlers’ training, competitions and travel abroad.
If the WFI goes ahead with the plan, it will also have to arrange and conduct the national camp on its own.
A two-thirds majority is not required to elect new offices
The WFI has also made changes to its bylaws to ensure that any candidate running for a new office does not need a two-thirds majority to win.
“From now on, if a Joint Secretary or Secretary decides to contest for a different office like President, then only a simple majority will suffice. Only when a candidate seeks to be elected to the office held by him, he needs to win with a two-thirds majority ”, the source explained.
In the recent WFI elections, Sanjay Singh had to win the polls for the presidency with a two-thirds majority as he served as joint secretary in the previous term.
States do not require SOC approval
The WFI has removed from its charter a clause requiring state associations to meet the conditions for obtaining accreditation from a State Olympic Committee (SOC) in order to join the national body.
“From now on, it is sufficient for a state association to be accredited by WFI. Some state institutions have abused this provision by describing themselves as genuine institutions despite having received suspension from WFI. They have produced their SOC of recognition, claiming to be a genuine affiliated state agency. We have made it through to get rid of this,” the source told.
All states must comply with national sports regulations
All 25 national institutions are required to ensure compliance with the Sports Act when conducting elections and operations. All must adhere to age and tenure guidelines.
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