Sanjay Singh elected president of Indian Wrestling Federation. Loktej Sports News

New Delhi, 21 December (Hindu). Sanjay Singh, an aide of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has been elected as the new president of WFI. After several postponements earlier in the year, the Wrestling Federation of India elections were held on Thursday, 21 December. After the daytime voting in New Delhi, counting of votes took place on the same day, in which Sanjay Singh was declared the winner. Singh got 40 votes, while his rival former Indian wrestler Anita Sheoran got seven votes.

The election for top posts in the Indian Wrestling Federation also paves the way for global wrestling body, United World Wrestling (UWW) to lift the suspension imposed on the WFI. The WFI was suspended in August for failing to hold elections within the stipulated deadline and India’s wrestlers have competed as neutral athletes in global competitions in the past few months.

Elections were held in the capital for 15 posts including President, Treasurer, General President and Senior Vice President. The contest for the post of President of Indian Wrestling Federation was between former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Anita Sheoran and Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Federation Vice President Sanjay Singh.

Anita Sheoran, who is from Haryana and contested from Odisha, was making a bid to become the first woman president of the national wrestling body. He was supported by star wrestlers including Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, who had protested against incumbent Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment of female wrestlers.

On the other hand, Sanjay Singh, who has been a close aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has promised to bring back the glory days of wrestling, a sport that has produced several Olympic medalists for India in recent times. People like Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia had objections to Sanjay Singh contesting the elections. He had expressed this during his meeting with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur earlier this month.

The much-publicized protests began on January 18 when wrestlers gathered at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and publicly accused Singh of sexual harassment and intimidation. The athletes’ outcry was not just about demanding justice for themselves but also about creating a safe environment for upcoming wrestlers. He demanded free and fair elections in the WFI and insisted that neither Singh nor any of his family members should join the federation. The protests continued till June after which the wrestlers decided to call it off after the Sports Ministry promised action.