 | |
| Sport | Wrestling |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | National |
| Abbreviation | WFI |
| Founded | 27 January 1967 [1] |
| Affiliation | United World Wrestling (UWW) |
| Headquarters | New Delhi, India |
| President | Sanjay Singh [2] [3] |
| Secretary | V.N. Prasood |
| Official website | |
| wrestlingfederationofindia | |
 | |
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is the governing body of wrestling in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi, India. [4]
In 2015, WFI established Pro Wrestling League tournament to promote the sport. It featured six teams representing six cities across India that consisted 11 players each, both domestic and international. [5]
The National Championships are held annually for Senior and Junior levels.[ citation needed ]
The WFI has a total of 28 affiliated units. [6]
In December 2023, the newly formed Wrestling Federation of India led by Sanjay Singh was suspended by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. [7] [8]
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international sports competitions, and managing Indian teams at these events. It goes with the name of Team India. It also acts as the Indian Commonwealth Games Association, responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Commonwealth Games.
Tihar Prisons, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in India and one of the largest complex of prisons in India. It has 9 functional prisons spread over more than 400 acres. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one of the three prison complexes in Delhi. The other two prison complexes are at Rohini and Mandoli with one and six central prisons respectively. Tihar prison complex is located in Janakpuri, approximately 3 km from Tihar village in West Delhi.
The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is sports coaching honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Drona, often referred as "Dronacharya" or "Guru Drona", a character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata of ancient India. He was master of advanced military warfare and was appointed as the royal preceptor to the Kaurava and the Pandava princes for their training in military arts and astras. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Recipients are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and are honoured to have done "outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and enabled sportspersons to excel in international events" over a period of four years. Two awards are designated for the lifetime contribution in coaching where the achievements in producing "outstanding sportspersons" over a period of 20 years or more are considered. As of 2020, the award comprises a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh (US$19,000).
Kumar is a title, given name, middle name, or a family name found in the Indian subcontinent, mainly in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, though not specific to any religion, ethnicity, or caste. It is a generic title which variously means prince, son, boy, or chaste. It is the 11th most common family name in the world as of August 2019.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is an Indian politician who is serving as Member of Parliament from Kaiserganj as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was the president of the Wrestling Federation of India.
Vijender Singh Beniwal is an Indian professional boxer and politician. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal. He also won bronze medals at the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as well as silver medals at the 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, all in the middleweight division.
Sushil Kumar is a former great Indian wrestler. He carried the Indian flag at the opening ceremony of 2012 London Olympics. His 2008 Olympic medal was the second for India in wrestling, and the first since Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics. In July 2009, he received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna – India's highest honour for sportspersons. On 3 October 2010, Kumar handed the Queen's Baton to Prince Charles in the Queen's Baton Relay for the 2010 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony. Sushil won the gold medal in the 74 kg division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Sushil won the gold medal in the 74 kg division at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He is the first and only Indian who has won a gold medal at World Wrestling Championships.
India has a history of sports dating back to the Vedic period. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport; it generates the highest television viewership, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) being the most-followed league in the country. Football has also gained popularity, with the Indian Super League (ISL) being the highest level of domestic football, and the national team winning multiple gold medals at the Asian and South Asian Games. Additional football accomplishments include India having reached the Groupstage of the 1960 Olympics, qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and won the SAFF Championship. Other sports include kabaddi, badminton, tennis, and athletics, with kho-kho becoming the fourth-most viewed sport. India has also had success in field hockey, winning the World Cup and multiple medals in the Olympic Games. Sports such as golf, rugby, boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, motorsport, wrestling, and basketball are featured throughout the country.
The All India Chess Federation (AICF) is the central administrative body for the game of chess in India. Founded in 1951, the federation is affiliated to Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), the world body for chess. The AICF has produced Viswanathan Anand, Nihal Sarin, Pentala Harikrishna, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and many other grandmasters. The organisation is also in charge of managing women's chess in India. AICF's current headquarter is in New Delhi.
Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) is a program of the Foundation for Promotion of Sports and Games, a Not for Profit Company, which is committed to bridging the gap between the best athletes in India and the best athletes in the world thus helping Indian athletes to win Olympic Gold medals.
Udey Chand is a retired Indian wrestler and wrestling coach who was the first individual world championship medal winner from independent India.
Sangram Singh is an Indian wrestler, actor, and motivational speaker.
Sanjay Singh is an Indian politician who has served as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Delhi since 2018. He is currently under arrest for money laundering and is also the national spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party and the state-in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan. Singh has been a senior leader of the party since its inception in November 2012 and is a member of the party's foremost decision-making body, the Political Affairs Committee (PAC). In oct 2023, he was arrested by ED on groud of laundering and his role in excise policy. His custody has been extended till 27 October. Earlier he challenge ED to arrest him and enquire his role.He joined hands with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in his apolitical campaigns from the Right To Information campaign in 2006 to the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement led by social activist Anna Hazare. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha on 8 January 2018 from the state of Delhi.
Bajrang Punia is an Indian freestyle wrestler, who competes in the 65-kg weight category. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Punia won a bronze medal by defeating Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov with a 8–0 margin. Punia is the only Indian wrestler to win 4 medals at the World Wrestling Championships.
Amit Kumar Dhankar is a freestyle wrestler from India. He became Asian wrestling champion in 2013, along with becoming Commonwealth wrestling champion twice. He also won gold medal in the 2016 South Asian Games. In 2015, he participated in the inaugural edition of the Pro Wrestling League, where his team won the title. He is employed as an inspector in the Haryana Police.
Vinesh Phogat is an Indian wrestler. She became the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold at both the Commonwealth and Asian Games. She is the only Indian woman wrestler to win multiple medals at the World Wrestling Championships. Phogat became the first Indian athlete to be nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards in 2019.
Sakshi Malik is a former Indian freestyle wrestler. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg category, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics. She is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program, along with fellow female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat.
Virender SinghYadav is an Indian freestyle wrestler. Competing in the 74 kg weight division, he has won 3 Deaflympics Gold Medals and a bronze medal in 4 appearances. He won gold medals at 2005 Summer Deaflympics, 2013 Summer Deaflympics and 2017 Summer Deaflympics. In addition to that, he also won a bronze at 2009 Summer Deaflympics.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya, also known as Ravi Kumar or Ravi Dahiya, is an Indian freestyle wrestler who won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 57 kg category. Dahiya is also a bronze medallist from 2019 World Wrestling Championships and a three-time Asian champion. At the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, he won the gold medal in the men's 57kg freestyle wrestling category in Birmingham, England.
In January 2023, Indian wrestlers began protesting for investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment of female wrestlers by BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh during his tenure as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The female wrestler complainants accuse Bhushan of groping, touching breasts and navels without consent, stalking, intimidation, and demanding "sexual favours" in exchange for professional help, all of which has led to a "shared sense of fear and trauma" among the women wrestlers. Bhushan has denied all allegations in front of a government appointed committee.
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