I’m done with wrestling, says ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan

PTI, Dec 24, 2023, 4:03 PM IST

Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Sunday said he is ”done” with the sport and the newly-elected body will now take care of it as he has many more responsibilities to look into, including next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

Brij Bhushan’s comments came soon after his meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda following Sports Ministry’s suspension of the WFI till further orders.

The basis of suspension WFI’s ”hasty announcement” of organising the U-15 and U-20 nationals ”without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers” for preparations.

The ministry also said the new body was working under ”complete control of former (WFI) office-bearers”, which was not in conformity with the National Sports Code.

The WFI elections were held on December 21 with Brij Bhushan’s loyalist, Sanjay Singh, and his panel winning the polls by big margins.

”Whatever has to be done with regards to wrestling in India, it has to be done by the new elected body,” Brij Bhushan told PTI. ”I have nothing to do with the sport now. I have other responsibilities to focus now. I will be away from the politics of this sport,” he added. Brij Bhushan is a sitting BJP MP from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh.

The top wrestlers of the country — Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik — had led the agitation against Brij Bhushan after accusing him of sexual harassment against female grapplers.

Bajrang had returned his Padma Shri award to the government on Friday in protest over Sanjay Singh’s election as WFI chief. On Thursday, Sakshi Malik quit wrestling for the same reason. It has been learnt that the ad-hoc panel, which was led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa, will be asked to manage the affairs till suspension is lifted.