A total of 12 wrestlers in men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle are scheduled to leave for Albania on Friday night but the latest developments meant there is a chance that they would not board the flight unless the sports ministry revokes its order of suspension dated December 24, 2023.

“We have been requesting the ministry to revoke the suspension order for a long time but that’s not happening. Because of the order, several pleas have been filed in the courts. The wrestlers have filed a contempt petition because of which we have to withdraw our circular for the selection trials for the senior Worlds. Again a contempt petition was filed challenging WFI’s decision to send the team to Albania. It’s better not to send the team till the time the ministry withdraws its order,” Sanjay Kumar Singh, the WFI president, told TNIE.

After the suspension of the federation last year, the IOA constituted an ad-hoc panel to run the day-to-day affairs of the body. The panel was disbanded in March after the UWW lifted its ban on the WFI in February. However, the protesting wrestlers including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and her husband Satyawart Kadian filed a petition in the court earlier this year demanding the appointment of an administrator to run the federation.

While hearing the petition, the Delhi High Court in its order in August said that the IOA’s decision to dissolve the ad-hoc committee was incompatible with the sports ministry’s suspension order. It said that until the suspension order was recalled, it was necessary for the ad-hoc committee to manage the federation’s affairs.

The IOA, though, told the court that it cannot re-constitute the panel. “As a member of the UWW, we formally request you to invoke Article 6.3 of the UWW Regulations and take appropriate action. Further, we also request you to forward this as a formal complaint to the IOC as the autonomy of the National Federations is severely being compromised due to constant interference by the MYAS so that the MYAS cannot get any privileges and support of the IOA in any future events of the IOC as well,” read the letter written to the UWW.

Article 6.3 of the UWW Constitution states, “Affiliated and Associated Members shall govern and administer their activities independently. They shall preserve their autonomy without influence by any political, religious or economic pressures. Governments and other public authorities shall only be entitled to verify the use of their financial grants by the National Federations.”

In this situation, only the ministry can end the deadlock now by taking back its suspension order and not only allowing the Indian wrestlers to compete in the Worlds but also saving the WFI from the ignominy of facing yet another ban from the UWW.