New Delhi: Outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has called for a meeting on Sunday to nominate candidates for the upcoming Federation elections to elect new office-bearers.
The meeting is expected to discuss potential candidates for the elections, and Brij Bhushan's son-in-law, Vishal Singh, who represents Bihar in the polls, may likely contest for a top position. Scheduled for July 30, it is set to be attended by state body officials who support Brij Bhushan. However, the venue for the meeting has not been specified yet, according to WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar.
"The presidents and secretaries of the various state associations will likely come for the meeting to discuss the candidates for the elections. The venue for the meeting has not been decided as yet," said Tomar.
The last date for filing nominations for the WFI elections, which will take place on August 12, is July 31. Brij Bhushan, who has completed 12 years as an office-bearer, is not eligible to contest as per the National Sports Code.
Currently, the day-to-day affairs of the WFI are being managed by the Indian Olympic Association-constituted ad-hoc committee led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa.
Regarding participation, Punjab Wrestling Association secretary Ranbir Kundu said his state association had not received an invitation to attend the meeting. He clarified that they won't field any candidate but will vote for the betterment of wrestling in the country.
The WFI elections have faced several postponements. Initially scheduled for July 6, the polls were rescheduled to July 11 after disaffiliated state bodies from Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh sought a hearing. However, the elections couldn't proceed on July 11 due to a stay order by the Gauhati High Court after the Assam Wrestling Association sought participation rights. The Supreme Court subsequently paved the way for the elections after staying the Gauhati High Court order.
The scrutiny of nominations will take place on August 2, and the final list of candidates will be published on August 7. If necessary, the voting will be conducted on August 12.