<p>The United World Wrestling (UWW) on Thursday banned the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for failing to conduct elections on schedule, marking a significant move. Indian wrestlers won’t be permitted to compete under their national flag in the 2019 world wrestling championships, which will be a direct result of this decision.</p>
<p>Indian wrestlers will now have to participate in the Olympic-qualifying world championships beginning on September 16 as “neutral athletes.”<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-143968″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-what-to-do-if-a-hospital-refuses-to-treat-a-cardholder-for-the-ayushman-bharat-scheme-25076bdc-8a1f-45ed-b5d7-a0106744e5ca-11zon.png” alt=”theindiaprint.com what to do if a hospital refuses to treat a cardholder for the ayushman bharat scheme 25076bdc 8a1f 45ed b5d7 a0106744e5ca 11zon” width=”1232″ height=”769″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-what-to-do-if-a-hospital-refuses-to-treat-a-cardholder-for-the-ayushman-bharat-scheme-25076bdc-8a1f-45ed-b5d7-a0106744e5ca-11zon.png 500w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/theindiaprint.com-what-to-do-if-a-hospital-refuses-to-treat-a-cardholder-for-the-ayushman-bharat-scheme-25076bdc-8a1f-45ed-b5d7-a0106744e5ca-11zon-150×94.png 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1232px) 100vw, 1232px” title=”Indian wrestlers cannot compete in the Worlds under the national flag because WFI was suspended for delaying elections 3″></p>
<p>A 45-day limit was assigned to the ad-hoc body, headed by Bhupender Singh Bajwa, to hold the elections, but they have already gone beyond that.</p>
<p>The ad hoc commission was established earlier this year on April 27 by the Indian Olympic Association.On April 28, UWW issued a warning that if the election date was not respected, it might suspend the Indian federation.</p>
<p>According to a source with the IOA, “The UWW communicated to the ad-hoc panel on Wednesday night that WFI has been suspended for failing to hold elections to its executive committee.”</p>
<p>Gian Singh, a member of the ad hoc panel, told PTI that Bajwa has been keeping them in the dark about relevant events and that they are no longer involved in decision-making.</p>
<p>“I’ve heard that WFI has been halted, too, but I’m not sure what the ad-hoc panel will do at this point. Mr. Bajwa no longer calls us for discussions. Even the process used to determine the Worlds trials’ criteria was unknown to me, Gian said.</p>
<p>He continued, adding that the ad hoc panel had not handled the current problems appropriately because “Mr. Bajwa is too busy, it seems.”</p>
<p>For a remark, Bajwa was approached, but he did not reply calls or texts.</p>
<p>For the first time in Indian wrestling history, the women’s team from India defeated world powers Japan and the United States to win the team championship in the recent U-20 World Championship in Amman.</p>
<p>The wrestlers received points for competing as representatives of their nation, but in the senior world championships in Serbia, the Indians will fight as “neutral athletes,” and their results won’t be taken into account when calculating India’s score.</p>
<p>However, as the IOA and not the WFI provided entry, the wrestlers may represent India in the Asian Games, which begin on September 23 in Hangzhou.</p>
<p>The WFI is required to send entries to the Worlds after choosing a team via trials.</p>
<p>The WFI was initially scheduled to conduct elections on May 7, but the Sports Ministry deemed the process invalid. As a result, the IOA formed an ad hoc council to oversee the sport in the nation.</p>
<p>After that, the elections were repeatedly postponed as a result of several unhappy and unaffiliated state entities petitioning the court to be allowed to vote.</p>
<p>DIFFERENT DELAYS</p>
<p>The WFI elections were initially scheduled for July 11 by the returning officer, but the Assam association filed a petition with the Gauhati High Court and was successful in having the elections postponed until June 25. The next hearing was then scheduled for July 28.</p>
<p>The Gauhati High Court’s ruling was overturned on July 18 by the Supreme Court when the Andhra state association appealed, clearing the path for the votes to be held.</p>
<p>The Punjab and Haryana High Court halted the process on a motion made by the Haryana Wrestling Association (HWA), which was run by Deepinder Singh Hooda before being suspended by WFI. The returning officer then announced August 12 as the new election date.</p>
<p>The decision to let the Haryana Amateur Wrestling Association vote in the WFI elections was contested by HWA.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court is now considering this matter, and it will probably hear it on Friday.</p>
