The WFI’s power struggle has landed the nation in an embarrassing situation. The power struggles within Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) made the Punjab & Haryana High Court step in recently to stop the election process. Consequently, the international governing body for wrestling, United World Wrestling (UWW), suspended the WFI for not conducting its elections on time. The move has stained the ISRO’s successful moon landing celebration. There is little doubt about how this move shames India and its wrestlers on global sports platforms. While BJP’s Brij Bhushan Singh and his faction may have a role in this defaming of India, the real culprits are those wrestlers that incited global outrage using dubious allegations against the erstwhile WFI chief. Â
What are the Consequences of UWW’s suspension of WFI?
The UWW suspension of WFI is a strategic move to shame India. This move will not allow Indian wrestling to fight under the banner of India in the upcoming World Championships. All Indian wrestlers will be considered as neutral, individual sportsmen or sportswomen. Their victories will be individual triumphs, they will not be marked under India’s name.
If they win the first position, India’s flag and the national anthem will not be played in the arena.
How does the UWW suspension shame India?
India is represented by the WFI on any platform related to wrestling. Thus, the suspension of WFI is derecognizing India as a nation at wrestling platforms. Although the UWW issued warnings to the WFI ad-hoc committee to conduct elections timely to avoid the suspension, the ban by the courts made it impossible for the task to be completed. Therefore, Indian athletes can compete without the glory of being an Indian.Â
The WFI suspension by the UWW is not unreasonable. However, it ensures that India as a nation is shamed on an international sporting platform. While the nation is celebrating a momentous victory of India’s flag on the moon, the wrestlers of India will be unable to lift the Indian flag at their sporting competitions. Thereby, making India’s moon landing a bitter-sweet celebration.
Who is to blame for India’s Dishonor?
The burden of India’s dishonor can be placed at the court’s door. The stay on WFI elections without giving due consideration to its consequences has put India in a difficult position. However, the power struggle for factions inside the wrestling fraternity is equally responsible for this international-grade faux pas. Nevertheless, the most to blame are the wrestlers who sat in a disorganized protest at Jantar Mantar.
The wrestler’s protest was an act of greed, exposure, and power. They single handedly ensured that their unruly protest became an eye-catching spectacle against the democracy of India. The truth behind their protest is now known to all Indians. They wanted to install their preferred lackey on the WFI Chief’s seat. They did not want to participate at national level selection games, their aim was to play international sports only. Moreover, they wanted to grab attention and favors from the ‘toolkit’ gang they invited to the protests. Justice and truth was never their endgame for the wrestlers’ protest.
The ‘toolkit’ gang that enjoyed making a martyr of the protesting wrestlers is celebrating the derecognition of India in the wrestling world. The ‘Liberals’ and ‘Sickularists’ will spout their vile half-truths. They will lay the blame for this recognition of India at Brij Bhushan Singh’s door. They may even say that India’s shame is due to the BJP government’s or PM Modi’s mismanagement of the situation. However, none of them will own up to the fact that the wrestlers’ protest and power struggle ultimately shames India. Moreover, they ensured that the Indian flag would not be unfurled at the wrestling championship despite the best efforts of Indian wrestlers. Â
Very good. ‘We the Indians’ don’t mind if those bigoted wrestlers represent themselves as ZAANTs of Haryana and Punjab.