“Cornered” PT Usha was forced to disband the ad hoc committee for wrestling
Many were taken aback by the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) decision to dissolve the wrestling ad hoc committee last month. Nevertheless, PT Usha, the president of IOA, was compelled to act quickly due to a number of factors, including the possibility of an IOC punishment.
The question of the ad hoc committee’s continuation was to be discussed at the IOC’s executive board meeting on March 20. This followed the United World Wrestling (UWW) decision to first reinstate the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) with full membership privileges and then to clarify in an email sent on March 8 that the WFI was the only organization authorized to choose and send teams to international competitions.
Usha was forced to dissolve the ad hoc panel led by Bhupinder Singh Bajwa on March 18 out of fear for action since, up until that point, the IOA had not recognized the WFI despite UWW’s resolution.
Usha outlined each of these factors in her affidavit, which she filed to the Delhi High Court along with an explanation of the facts and reasoning for the ruling.
A petition for the appointment of an administrator, submitted by Bajrang Punia and others, was being heard by the court.
Rule 29 of the Olympic Charter, which requires National Olympic Committees, in this instance the IOA, to recognize all national sports federations that are associated with its international federation, is cited by Usha in her affidavit.
“The IOA’s ad-hoc committee’s selection of teams, wrestlers, and competition results would not have been recognized by the UWW or the IOC in any of the international wrestling events, including the Olympic Qualifiers, since the UWW had not granted the IOA permission to form an ad-hoc committee on December 27, 2023,” the affidavit reads.
Usha said, “It was imperative for the IOA to withdraw the ad hoc committee of the WFI as it would have been a direct conflict with the Olympic Charter and the UWW rules,” underscoring the gravity of the situation in light of the IOC board meeting.
