West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed shock over the suspension of WFI by the United World Wrestling, alleging that the central government has let down the country’s wrestlers.
UWW, the world governing body for wrestling, has suspended the Wrestling Federation of India for not conducting its elections on time. The development will not allow Indian grapplers to compete at the upcoming World Championships under the Indian flag. "I am shocked to learn that the United World Wrestling (UWW) has suspended the Wrestling Federation of India," Banerjee said on X, formerly Twitter.
Holding that it is a matter of "grave embarrassment" for the whole nation, she wrote, "Central government has let down our wrestlers by being shamefully arrogant and by being cavalier and dismissive towards the plight of our wrestler sisters." "Centre and BJP have kept on harassing our indomitable sisters with misogyny and crude male chauvinism," she on the microblogging site.
Banerjee also said India should "stand against and punish those who are left with no moral compass and who cannot stand up for the dignity of the nation's fighting daughters". "The day of reckoning is not too far," she wrote.
Originally, the WFI was to hold elections on May 7 but the Sports Ministry had declared the process as null and void. The elections have been delayed several times with multiple disgruntled and disaffiliated state bodies moving the court, seeking the right to participate in the polls.
The Indian women's team at the recent U-20 World Championship in Amman had won the team title for the first time in Indian wrestling history ahead of powerhouses like Japan and the US.The Asian Championship was moved out of the country due to a controversy surrounding the outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh, who has been accused of sexually abusing several women wrestlers. The case is already before a Delhi court.
