WFI hands temporary suspension to 30 overage wrestlers

Cracking down the whip on overage wrestlers competing at junior level, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has handed temporary suspension to 30 of them in the past month after investigating more than 400 such cases.

- ■STATE TIMES NEWS

The WFI acted on complaints, largely from coaches and wrestlers from the Delhi 'Akharas' that many wrestlers from Haryana have procured fake certificates to show they were born in the national capital and are eligible to compete at junior level.

Much to the exasperation of WFI, two overage wrestlers even won medals at the recent Khelo India Games in Bihar.

"We do not want to spoil careers of wrestlers, so we have just barred them from the junior level competitions, like U18 and Cadets. They should compete at the senior level, if they are over 18 they must represent their original state," a senior WFI official told PTI.

"Now they need to come to WFI, apologise for their actions and cheating. We will consider their cases. This has been going on for some time. One by one we suspended around 30 such offenders in the last 30-40 days."