Indian Olympic Association dissolves ad hoc committee for wrestling

New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday announced the dissolution of the ad hoc committee for the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

This decision comes following the lifting of the ban imposed on WFI by the United World Wrestling and the successful completion of the selection trials overseen by the ad hoc committee appointed by the IOA.

“Refer to this office Order No. IOA WFI/I-28/2023/1560 dated 27 December 2023, wherein an Ad Hoc Committee for wrestling was appointed, it is hereby ordered that the said Ad Hoc committee is dissolved with immediate effect,” the IOA said in a statement.

“The decision to dissolve the Ad Hoc committee comes in light of the lifting of the ban of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) by the United World Wrestling (UWW) and the successful completion of Selection Trials by the Ad Hoc Committee appointed by the IOA as per the directives of the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi. Consequent upon the aforementioned developments, there is no further need for running the activities of the WFI through an Ad Hoc Committee,” it said.

“However, as instructed by the UWW, it is imperative that the WFI appoint a Safeguarding Committee/Officer at the earliest to address the concerns of abuse and harassment and to ensure adherence to all rules, regulations and guidelines set forth by the UWW and other relevant authorities. Furthermore, the WFI is also directed to conduct the elections of the Athletes Commission in a time-bound manner, in accordance with the established procedures and guidelines. This step is essential to promote athlete representation and participation in the decision-making process of the WFI.

“The WFI is also instructed to repay the loan provided by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to the Adhoc Committee for managing WFI's operation. All concerned are requested to take necessary actions to implement this office order effectively. This is issued with the approval of President IOA,” the letter read.