Court wranglings damaged wrestling considerably: WFI

Pune, May 4: The ancient art of wrestling, rated among the elite disciplines of sports, is in the lurch and has suffered considerable damage due to infighting and court wranglings among rival factions of the sport for the past two years, said Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) general secretary Kartar Singh.

Kartar, who was here to attend the first Techinical Conduct Committee meeting for the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) to be held in October, told reporters that the Federation would deal with the issue with a firm hand.

''WFI was in a state of limbo for the past two years which caused immense loss not only to the grapplers but to the country as well. It is on the firm ground after the election of the new executive body on April 22,'' he said.

''It was at the behest of Mr G S Mander, back in the saddle after a gap of four years to head the WFI for the third time, who used his good offices with the world body controlling wrestling FILA president Martin Nato that saved India from being debarred, for not paying the annual affiliation fee of Rs three lakh for the past three years.'' Kartar explained that FILA president accepted the plea of Mr Mander which opened the doors for Indian grapplers to take part in international events.

Elaborating on future plans and schemes, he said the newly-elected executive committee will strive to put back wrestling on track.

''Our first task is to select the Indian team to take part in the senior Asian Wrestling Championship which gets underway at Kyrgistan from May 8 to 13. A 15-member squad, comprising seven grapplers in Free Style event, three in the Greco Roman style and three women along with two coaches, will represent the country,'' Kartar said.

Wrestling is among the nine disciplines included in the 2008 (CYG).

The WFI has been in the red after the ouster of M S Malick, who incurred more than Rs 7.5 lakh while fighting court cases over the past two years. Hence with my own initiative we have raised Rs 5.5 lakh from a bank in Patiala, to send the Indian team to take part in the senior Asian Wrestling Championship to Khirgistan, Kartar said. Having set the house in order, and in view of the ensuing 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, the WFI has alloted the sub-junior (under 17) national wrestling championship to Anandpursaheb in Punjab to be held from May 25 to 27 in all three sections - Free Style, the GrecoRoman Style and for girls.

The executive committee which met after the elections has chalked out an elborate plan for the year, he said and added that Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were the first to bid to host the senior national wrestling championship but we have kept the offers open for other affiliated units to also bid.

Meanwhile, trials for seniors will be held at Delhi from May 11 to 13. The free style event will be held on May 11, followed by Greco Roman style on May 12 and women's section on May 13, he said.

To another query, Kartar said in order to promote wrestling from the grassroot level 'dangal', meaning tournaments, will be conducted all over the country so that the grapplers will not only sharpen their skills but also gain monetary benefits. The WFI has been faced with the herculean task of certifying the age group for sub-junior and juniors, which has been a bane rather than a boon, he said.

To overcome the shortcomings, the WFI has set a committee that will monitor the age groups.

Elaborating further, he said only age certificates from the Board Examination will be held vaild.

He said ''Times have changed and present day youngsters should be trained on synthetic mats. Unlike the past, present day grappling has become very fast and one has to garner maximum points within six minutes.'' In a bid to make the sport more popular, India-Pakistan wrestling series will be heralded very soon. ''I have already started negotiating with the Pakistan Wrestling Federation in this regard and I am receiving positive signals from them.'' This will bring more sponsors so that the Indian grapplers will gain monetary benefits.

Recalling doyen Mamasaheb Mohol's yeomen services to the cause of wrestling, Kartar said Maharashtra could regain its lost glory as it not only has the required talent but also the powerful administerators.

He said Union Agriculture minister and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, who is heading the Maharashtra State Wrestling Association (MSWA), and the IOA president Suresh Kalmadi, should be given numero uno position among the 30 affiliated units of the federation. He said, ''I have spent best years of my career in Kolhapur and learnt tricks of the trade to make the country proud in international arena.'' Following are the new office bearers of the WFI President: Mr G S Mander Sr Vice-President: Mr T R Swamy Vice-Presidents: Mr Raj Singh, Mr Ranvir Singh, Mr K Proin, Mr N Phoni, Mr K S Minhas, Mr Hamza Bin Omer, Mr M P Tiwari, Mr R S Meena. Secretary General: Mr Kartar Singh Treasurer: Mr I D Nanavati Joint Secretaries: Mr Dushyant Sharma, Mr Sohan Singh, Mr Jasram Singh, Mr Shivaji Pachpute.

Executive Members: Mr Ajay Vaid, Mr A Narsing Rao, Mr P R Sondhi, Mr Vinod Kumar, Mr Om Prakash Gujar, Mr Amit Singh, Mr V S Kandari, Mr Gurcharan Singh, Mr Umesh Patel and Mr PremKumar Mishra.

UNI