Sanjay Singh, backed by Brij Bhushan, becomes new WFI President

In an intresting move, Sanjay Singh was elected as the new president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) after the election results were declared on Thursday. He was the close aide of former WFI Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

After several postponements earlier in the year, the WFI elections were held on December 21. The voting took place in the national capital earlier in the day. The counting began soon after the voting was completed.

#WATCH | Former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's aide Sanjay Singh elected as the new president of the Wrestling Federation of India

"...National Camps (for wrestling) will be organised. Wrestlers who want to do politics can do politics, those want to do wrestling will do… pic.twitter.com/wUsYpFNvIT

— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2023

Sanjay won in one-sided affair

Sanjay Singh's panel won the Wrestling Federation of India's election by 40 votes while the other panel managed to secure only 7 votes in the 50-member electoral board.

After securing win in the WFI's election, he said, "National Camps (for wrestling) will be organised. Wrestlers who want to do politics can do politics, those who want to do wrestling will do wrestling."

Who is Sanjay Singh?

Previously, Sajay Singh served as previous executive council of the World Federation of India. He also served as the joint secretary of the federation in 2019. 

WFI's conundrum ends

The WFI elections were scheduled to be held on August 12 which was put on hold after as the Punjab and Haryana High Court was hearing a petition on the WFI election in August. Furthermore, the date was extended to September 25. Notably, the election was scheduled for June this year. 

What were the demands of wrestlers?

The wrestlers' fight had gained momentum earlier this month when Punia and Malik met Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur to discuss fair elections and reiterated their demand that no one associated with Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh should hold office in the WFI. The minister reportedly assured them of the government's commitment to a clean and transparent process.

With the elections complete and the wrestlers' voices heard, a new era dawns for Indian wrestling. The star wrestlers and Olympic medallists Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and Sakshi Malik, who led the charge against ousted WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on sexual harassment grounds will address the media in a victory press conference.