Wrestling Federation of India keen to host Asian Championships

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, June 12

International wrestling could return to Indian shores after a hiatus of two years as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has decided to bid for the 2025 Senior Asian Wrestling Championships, U-23 and U-17 championships.

Their bid is currently being evaluated by the United World Wrestling (UWW).

The UWW had taken away the hosting rights from India in 2023 after wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, had protested against the then WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Amidst the uproar, the UWW had withdrawn the Senior Asian Championships and had awarded it to Kazakhstan. This despite the fact that the ad-hoc committee, which was set up to run its daily affairs after the WFI’s suspension, had shown interest to host the event in Delhi in March-April last year.

At present, UWW’s senior competitions manager Ramil Ahmadov is in New Delhi to inspect the venues and other facilities. “We are hopeful of hosting the Asian Championships. A UWW representative is already in the city to see our preparedness,” a source told The Tribune.