WFI doesn’t want Sushil as observer

New Delhi : The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has refused to acknowledge two-time Olympics medallist Sushil Kumar as a national observer for the sport. Kumar is among the 12 Olympians appointed as national observers by the central government a while back to oversee the conduct of national camps and trials, evaluate the performance of core probables and provide a comprehensive feedback to the Sports Ministry in their respective disciplines.
Making its displeasure clear over the appointment of Kumar, WFI didn’t even inform the wrestler when it conducted trials for the Asian Championships, to be held in New Delhi from May 10 to 14, in Sonepat last week. As an observer for wrestling, Kumar was supposed to attend the trials and submit a report to the Ministry. “No one from WFI informed me about the date and timings of the trials. I was expecting an official call or e-mail from the federation. I was supposed to attend it as an observer,” Kumar told The Tribune.Besides, Kumar’s coach Vinod Kumar said that the London Olympics silver medallist wanted to return to action at the Asian Championships but WFI did not allow him to join the preparatory camp in Sonepat. “He was keen to join the camp that began in the first week of March. But WFI did not entertain his request. The federation was reluctant to accept his entry for the camp,” said the coach.  Kumar is training at the Chhatrasal Stadium to prepare for the trials of the Commonwealth and Asian Games next year. A WFI functionary said WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was not comfortable with the idea of Kumar becoming an observer. “The president does not consider him as an observer and has informed the Sports Minister,” said the official. “But it is wrong to say that he was not allowed to compete in the tournament because of his problems with WFI. The rules are same for everyone. Only those wrestlers who were part of the camp participated in the trials. We never received his entry.