WFI back in charge as IOA dissolves ad-hoc committee

New Delhi: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday dissolved the ad-hoc committee for wrestling, saying "there is no further need" for it to run the sport after revocation of the suspension on the national federation, which now gets complete administrative control.

The ad-hoc committee was formed in December last year after the Sports Ministry suspended the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). However, the suspension imposed on it by the global governing body -- United World Wrestling (UWW) -- was lifted in February.

"The decision to dissolve the Ad-hoc Committee comes in light of the lifting of the ban on the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) by the United World Wrestling and the successful completion of Selection Trials by the Ad-hoc Committee appointed by the IOA as per the directives of the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi," said the IOA order issued on March 10.

The ad-hoc committee, under the chairmanship of Bhupender Singh Bajwa, was constituted on December 23 after the newly-elected WFI, led by Sanjay Singh, had allegedly flouted its own rules.

Earlier this month, the panel organised the trials to select the teams for the Asian Championships and Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Kyrgyzstan to be held next month.

The protesting duo of Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia competed in the trials and the former made the cut for Olympic qualifiers in the 50kg category.

Following the successful completion of the trials the reins of the sport have been handed over to the WFI.

The IOA instructed the WFI to appoint a "Safeguarding Committee Officer" to address concerns of sexual harassment and other issues such as adherence to rules.

"...as instructed by the UWW, it is imperative that the WFI appoint a Safeguarding Committee/Officer at the earliest to address the concerns of abuse and harassment and to ensure adherence to all rules, regulations, and guidelines set forth by the UWW and other relevant authorities," the IOA letter added.

"Furthermore, the WFI is also directed to conduct the elections of the Athletes Commission in a time-bound manner, in accordance with the established procedures and guidelines.

"This step is essential to promote athlete representation and participation in the decision-making processes of the WFI."