WFI asks wrestlers to give contract details
The Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Singh announced that only athletes who submit a hard copy of their contract with private sponsors would be allowed a chance to compete in the trials for the World Championship. The move was part of an ongoing dispute of the WFI with private sponsors of athletes like JSW and OGQ.
The WFI is attempting to create a system where the athlete and the sponsor needs to go through the federation for financial matters, as well as international exposure trips.
WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar confirmed to this paper that declarations were demanded of athletes. “We took a declaration from everyone to know if wrestlers were sponsored and if they were, then who were the sponsors. We have sponsorships from Tata and the UP Government has adopted wrestling as of now. Athletes are welcome to take private sponsors, but those sponsors will have to help the athletes by way of the wrestling federation,” said Tomar. He also added that the reason to do so was so that the contracts that the federation provides does not clash with that of private companies.
The WFI also wants a greater say in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPs) which provides financial assistance to athletes and is directly routed from the Ministry of Sports. “The WFI fully supports TOPs. But we want the federation to be able to plan the international exposure trips of the athletes, rather than the athletes themselves sending proposals to the Ministry,” said Tomar.
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