In a super world, politics and sport aren’t meant to be combined. However then the world of Indian wrestling was removed from supreme in 2024 with Vinesh Phogat’s Olympic dejection and the unending administrative chaos flattening a as soon as flourishing sport. From the time when Wrestling Federation of India elections had been held, precisely a 12 months again, to the latest Nationwide Championships in Benglauru, Indian wrestling has appeared like a rudderless ship. Not too way back, wrestling had developed right into a sport that promised unprecedented Olympic success however lower to Paris 2024, Aman Sehrawat’s bronze medal was what saved the delegation the blushes after Phogat’s seemingly destined gold slipped via her grasp as a consequence of a merciless coincidence.
She was, for higher or for worse, probably the most intriguing story of Indian wrestling this 12 months.
She punished herself to combat in a decrease weight class after her most well-liked class was already booked for the Olympics, downed the then unbeaten Japanese legend Yui Susaki in her opening spherical in Paris after which ended up disqualified for being 100gm chubby on the morning of the ultimate.
A day later, she gave up on her sporting profession, declaring that the combat had left her.
She wasn’t completed although. Following an emotionally overwhelming homecoming which included a custom-made gold medal from Haryana’s khap panchayats, Phogat joined the Congress celebration, fought the state meeting elections and managed to turn out to be an MLA in her maiden electoral outing from Julana constituency.
She wasn’t the one one in her fraternity who selected politics as future.
Bajrang Punia too joined the Congress however he didn’t get the identical returns as Phogat.
His place was that of a Kisan morcha head and his wrestling profession was left stalled after coping a four-year ban for failure to submit dope samples throughout coaching camps. This was after he did not qualify for Paris, a brand new low within the profession of the celebrated grappler, who fetched a bronze within the Tokyo Video games.
The 2 maintained all alongside that their combat in opposition to alleged sexual harassment of girls wrestlers by former WFI head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was an apolitical one.
However their fellow protestor and Rio Olympics bronze-winner Sakshi Malik sought to dispute that quickly after they joined congress.She went on to allege in her e book that the the duo’s “greed” punctured their protest in opposition to Sharan Singh.
Subsequent era affected by chaos
The likes of Anshu Malik and Antim Panghal, who had been touted as the following massive factor in Indian wrestling, lower a sorry determine in Paris however Aman carried ahead the wealthy legacy of the Chhatrasal stadium by profitable the boys’s freestyle 57kg bronze.
It was a class which 2020 Tokyo Video games silver-medallist Ravi Dahiya made his personal. However Dahiya vanished from the scene as a consequence of spate of accidents that affected his type.
The Tokyo marketing campaign, which yielded two medals in wrestling, ought to have been the catalyst for higher infrastructure and training for Indian wrestler.
Nevertheless, the developments within the final 24 months have prevented development.
The potential remains to be there and the most important instance was Indian U17 ladies staff’s world championship victory in Amman, Jordan in September.
The nation had been aiming for a podium end for lengthy and the dream lastly materialised this 12 months. Out of 10 attainable medals, India gained eight medals, together with 5 gold medal and one silver.
Ending forward of powerhouse Japan and spectacular Kazakhstan is not any imply feat.
Nevertheless, the never-ending litigations have tied the palms of WFI which is now struggling to hold out each day affairs of the physique.
The staff led by Sanjay Singh, that gained the elections, stands suspended by the Sports activities Ministry.
The bottom of suspension is saying Nationals with out following a 15-day discover interval in December 2023. However the truth stays that if WFI had adopted the discover interval, wrestlers would have misplaced a vital 12 months as a result of by the point the 15-day interval would have accomplished, 12 months 2024 would have began.
WFI was compelled to withdraw the staff from the senior World Championship owing to pending litigation by Sakshi and and her wrestler husband Satyawart Kadian.
Ultimately after authorities’s intervention a staff was lastly despatched.
No correct teaching camp has been organised within the final two years, the efforts to revive the Professional Wrestling League are on maintain, grants and sponsorships have stopped, no overseas/private coaches have been engaged and there’s no planning to take the game ahead.
If the state of affairs might be summed up in a line, Indian wrestling is stagnant for now.Â
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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