New Delhi: Sanjay Singh, a close aide of Brij Bhushan Singh, was on Thursday elected as the new president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
In the election results announced today, Sanjay Singh defeated his rival & former Indian wrestler Anita Sheoran by 40:7 votes ratio. He reportedly belongs to the faction of ousted WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh and is understood to have close links with the latter.
Sanjay Singh was also the national federation’s joint secretary since 2019.
VIDEO | “Our entire panel (Sanjay Singh panel) has won, everyone has won with a good majority,” says Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s son-in-law Vishal Singh on WFI election results.
(Full video is available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/YdBq1KkKe3
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 21, 2023
The elections for Wrestling Federation of India took place after numerous postponements during the year. Voting was held earlier in the day and counting took place, soon after polling ended.
The delay in elections happened because of court cases. The WFI was suspended by the international federation as the Indian body failed to conduct polls on time.
Will Sanjay’s close links with Brij Bhushan create fresh stir?
Sanjay Singh’s election to the top post could have been a welcome move, as he has been a seasoned person in the wrestling fraternity and was also the vice president of Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association.
However, his close association with the former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan is set to create fresh stir and draw outrage from the women wrestlers.
For the unversed, a slew of top Indian athletes protested against the ousted WFI president accusing the latter of harassment & molestation. At least six women wrestlers including top medallist Sakshi Mallik & others along with Olympian Bajrang Punia sat on a dharna at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against their sexual harassment by the then WFI chief.
During their agitation, when women wrestlers demanded action against Brij Bhushan, the latter found support from Sanjay Singh, one of his close confidante.
What wrestlers said about Sanjay Singh’s nomination?
Sanjay Singh’s candidature created elation in Brij Bhushan’s camp while drew sharp protest in wrestlers camp. Many of protesting wrestlers raised their grievances against Singh’s nomination due to his ties with the former president. They also met Sports Minister last week in this regard.
Notably, it was one of the demands of protesting wrestles with Sports Minister during their June 2023 meet that neither Brij Bhushan nor his accomplices should get nominated for the post again.
