Asian Wrestling Championships moved out of New Delhi after WFI controversy, to be held in Astana

The Asian Wrestling Championships, which was scheduled to be held in New Delhi in March-April, was moved out of the capital metropolis. Kazakhstan’s Astana will maintain the continental occasion, the United World Wrestling stated on Thursday.

New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 23, 2023 23:58 IST

Top Indian wrestlers protested in opposition to the WFI in January (PTI Photo)

By India Today Sports Desk: The United World Wrestling (UWW), the governing physique of world wresling, confirmed on Thursday that the Asian Championships have been moved out of India as a result of controversy surrounding the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). New Delhi was scheduled to host the continental occasion from March 28 to April 2 however the match has now been moved to Astana, Kazakhstan.

Astana will host the competitors between April 7 and 15 with the UWW saying that the ultimate dates can be confirmed, before later.

“UWW was forced to change the host of the continental championships due to the recent developments in Indian wrestling and a pending inquiry by the Indian sports ministry against the Wrestling Federation of India,” the UWW stated.

Notably, a number of high Indian wrestlers, together with Olympic medalists Ravi Dahiya, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, protested in opposition to the WFI, alleging sexual harassment of feminine wrestlers from former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who stepped down from the function. The likes of Vinesh Phogat and different high wrestlers additionally alleged that the WFI president threatened the wrestlers and in addition mismanagement by the governing physique of the game in India.

The protest in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar acquired the eye of the Sports Ministry following which the Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur held conferences with the wrestlers.

An oversight committee, headed by legendary boxer Mary Kom, was fashioned on January 23 and it was directed to inquire the allegations of the wrestlers and submit a report inside 4 weeks. A 2-week extension of deadline for the committee was given on Thursday.

DELHI’s LOSS, ASTANA’s GAIN

Astana hosted the 2019 World Championships with grand success and Kazakhstan was the host of the Asian Championships in 2021 as properly. The metropolis of Almaty additionally hosted the third Ranking Series occasion final 12 months.

Apart from the senior competitors, the U17 and U23 Asian Championships are set to return to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for a second straight 12 months. The match will happen from June 10 to 18. The dates of the U15 and U20 Asian Championships have been modified and it’ll now happen in Amman, Jordan from July 12 to twenty.

Published On:

Feb 23, 2023