Wrestling
Brij Bhushan Singh confident of his loyalist winning the WFI elections
Sanjay Singh and 2010 CWG medalist Anita Sheoran are fighting for the president post of Wrestling Federation of India.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the outgoing president of the Wrestling Federation of India. (Photo credit: WFI)
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, former president of Wrestling Federation of India, is confident of his loyalist Sanjay Singh winning the elections on Thursday.
The former president urged the new office bearers to create a "conducive sports environment and compensate for any losses".
UP Wrestling Association vice-president Sanjay Singh, who is a close associate of Brij Bhushan, is up against Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anita Sheoran for the post of president in the much-delayed WFI elections, that are underway.
"11 months later, today is the election. In the election, Sanjay Singh, in a way, can be described as a representative of the old federation. Sanjay Singh is sure to win the election, ensuring the formation of a new federation for the children. I urge them to create a conducive sports environment as soon as possible and compensate for any losses," Brij Bhushan told PTI.
Sanjay was part of WFI's last executive council. He was also the national federation's joint secretary since 2019.
Sheoran, on the other hand, is backed by the country's top wrestlers, who had accused Brij Bhushan of sexually exploiting women grapplers during his tenure.
The elite wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat, had spearheaded the agitation at Jantar Mantar against Brij Bhushan.
They had demanded that none of Brij Bhushan's family members or associates should be allowed to contest the elections.
Besides the post of the president, elections are also being held for senior vice-president (1), vice-presidents (4), secretary-general (1), treasurer (1), joint secretaries (2), executive members (5).
The election process, which was set in motion in July, had been delayed because of court cases, which had led to the suspension of WFI by the international federation, United World Wrestling, for failing to conduct fresh polls on time.
The Supreme Court recently set aside the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, paving the way for the process of electing the new WFI governing body.
The results will be declared on Thursday itself.
