The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) oversight committee appointed by the Sports Ministry after the raised allegations against the WFI presidents from the wrestlers have now cleared a contingent of 43 members including 27 wrestlers as they prepare for the 2nd ranking Series ‘Ibrahim-Moustafa’ tournament which will be held in Egypt.
The tournament will be specifically played in Alexandria, Egypt and will start from 23rd February and will run for three days. The tournament will be important for the Indian wrestlers to gain better seedings at the upcoming Senior Asian Championship 2023 and Senior World Championships which will take place later this year.
The Indian contingent will consist of 9 freestyle wrestlers, 8 Women wrestlers, and 10 Greco Roman wrestlers and will also include 16 coaching and support staff. The eyes will be on the three Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) wrestlers, Ashu 67kg Greco Roman, Bhateri 65kg in the women’s category and Sujeet 65kg in the freestyle category.
The WFI Oversight committee that is appointed by the SPorts Ministry include legendary boxer Mary Kom who has clearly stated that the Ministry does not want talented Indian wrestlers to lose out on international exposure just because of the ongoing issues. So they are going to clear the wrestlers and the coaching and support staff to travel to Egypt for the ranking series tournament.
“We want to ensure that the sport and the athletes do not suffer and more and more wrestlers get international exposure, so they can have the opportunity to compete against the best in the world,” stated Mary Kom, the Chairperson of the oversight WFI Committee.
A total of nine wrestlers who are current and foWorld Championships gold medallists have registered for the 2nd ranking series.
The WFI oversight committee was made when the wrestlers protested against the WFI president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh raising several serious allegations against the official. The oversight committee was formed so that the daily activities of the wrestlers welfare can be taken care of by the Sports Ministry and hence Mary Kom, Trupti Murgunde, Rajagopalan, Yogeshwar Dutt and Radhika Shreeman were appointed as a part of the committee to look after the affairs of the wrestlers until a definite solution is reached. Later star grappler Babita Phogat was added to the committee.
Apart from looking at the daily affairs of the wrestlers, the WFI Oversight Committee is also given the task to investigate the situation and the allegations raised by the wrestlers in their protest. They are supposed to send a report at the end of this month.
