"Only concerned about future of players, not...": WFI president candidate Sanjay Singh

NEW DELHI: The vice president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association, Sanjay Singh, who is one of the candidates vying to be the next chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) in the elections on Thursday, said he was more concerned about the future of the grapplers and not the star athletes who are to hold a press conference in the national capital.

The press conference is to be held by star wrestlers and Olympic medallists Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, who earlier came out against the now-deposed WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexual harassment.

After the announcement of the result of the WFI elections, the star grapplers will hold a press conference at the Press Club of India at 4 pm. Speaking to ANI on Thursday, Sanjay Singh said, "This election is being held on the direction of the Supreme Court. We are only concerned about the future of our wrestlers, not those who are holding a press conference today."

Earlier, this month, Bajrang and Sakshi met Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at his residence in the national capital for discussions on the WFI polls. Sakshi's husband Satyawart Kadian, a wrestler himself, was also among those who called on the minister.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the wrestlers said they were assured that the government would keep its promise that no one related or close to Brij Bhushan would get a post in the WFI.

"We met him to discuss the elections to the WFI, the date for which has now been announced. We are hopeful that the government will keep their promise (of not making anyone close to Brih Bhushan as an officer-bearer of WFI). We called off our protests on the government's request and the onus is now on them to hold up its end of the bargain and ensure that no one related to Brij Bhushan gets a post in the wrestling federation. The honourable minister assured that the government will keep its promise and we are hopeful that they would," Sakshi told the reporters.

"We expect the government to keep its word that people close to Brij Bhushan won't be accommodated in the WFI. We did everything the government asked of us," Bajrang told ANI.

The entire process of elections shall adhere to the stipulations and relevant provisions of the ratified constitution of the WFI and the Model Guidelines, 2011 issued by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, an official release stated. The WFI elections were originally slated to be held on August 12.

However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while holding a hearing on a petition in August, extended the stay on the WFI elections till September 25. Elections to the federation, which oversees wrestling in the country, were initially planned for June this year.

However, the protests front-lined by Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh over alleged sexual harassment charges led to the postponement of the polls.