File image of former Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav
| Photo Credit: Ok.R. Deepak
Former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Narsingh Pancham Yadav was elected chairman of the Wrestling Federation of India’s Athletes’ Commission right here on Wednesday, finishing a course of that was mandated by the game’s world governing physique.
A complete of eight candidates had been in fray for the seven positions and after polling, carried out on poll paper, seven members bought elected. They then selected Narsingh as chairman of the fee.
Ahead of the 2016 Olympics, the Games-bound Narsingh had grabbed headlines when two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, who missed the qualification occasion resulting from an harm, requested for a trial bout towards him.
Sushil moved the Delhi High Court and solely after his enchantment was rejected, it was confirmed that Narsingh would go to Rio Olympics.
However, in a stunning flip of occasions, Narshingh failed two dope checks previous to the Games and was banned for 4 years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport regardless that the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) had cleared him on the plea that his failed take a look at was the end result of sabotage.
The CAS resolution got here a day earlier than his opening bout, forcing him to go away Rio de Janeiro with out competing. The ban got here to an finish in July 2020 and he has maintained that the whole episode was a case of sabotage.
The different elected members of the athletes fee had been Sahil (Delhi), Smitha AS (Kerala), Bharti Bhaghei (UP), Khushboo S Pawar (Gujarat), Nikki (Haryana), and Sweta Dubey (Bengal).
United World Wrestling (UWW), the worldwide physique for the game, whereas lifting suspension of WFI had acknowledged that the transfer was topic to the Sanjay Singh-led nationwide federation constituting an athletes’ fee to resolve the grievances of the wrestlers.
Six high wrestlers, together with Olympic Games medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and Asian Games gold-medallist Vinesh Phogat sat on a protracted protest on the Jantar Mantar right here final yr demanding the arrest of then WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexually harassing ladies wrestlers.
The sports activities ministry had then suspended the WFI and instituted an IOA ad-hoc committee to handle the day-to-day functioning of the federation.
UWW too positioned the WFI underneath provisional suspension on August 23 after the Indian physique failed to carry recent elections sooner or later.
But after the elections had been held in December and Sanjay Singh, a detailed aide of Brij Bhushan was elected president, he wrote to UWW to raise the suspension.
The UWW Bureau met on February 9 and revoked the ban, with the pre-condition that the WFI has to represent its athletes’ fee earlier than July 1, 2024.
It had mandated that the fee ought to have energetic or retired athletes for not than 4 years.
The WFI had additionally instantly offered UWW with a written assure that every one the wrestlers, together with those that protested at Jantar Mantar, can be thought-about for participation in competitions, specifically the trials for the Olympic Games and another main nationwide and worldwide occasion.
Narsingh, an Arjuna awardee and Asian Championships gold medallist in 2010, competed on the 2012 London Olympic Games and misplaced the opening bout within the 74kg class.