Exactly one month since the protesting Indian wrestlers met the Sports Minister and laid down their five conditions, a Delhi court today issued summons to former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to appear before it on July 18. It's a development that is closest, among those five demands, to what the wrestlers had sought, but movement overall has been very slow.
Not one of the five demands has been met and the uncertainty surrounding Indian wrestling has only gotten worse. Here's where things stand as of now:
Demand 1: Brij Bhushan must be arrested
Status update: Delhi Police filed a chargesheet against Brij Bhushan on June 15 with various sexual offences including assault, sexual harassment and stalking. However, in what came as a blow to the wrestlers' protest, the Delhi Police sought cancellation of the POCSO case involving the minor complainant "based upon statements of the complainant i.e., the father of the victim and the victim herself". On July 7, though, the Delhi court handling the case issued summons to Singh to appear before it on July 18.
Brij Bhushan is a free man now, though, and has been seen attending government functions.
Demand 2: WFI elections must be held in a free and fair manner, by June 30
Status update: No elections have been held.
The elections were initially to be conducted on July 4, then moved to July 6 and then to July 11. Three delays later, the Assam Wrestling Association filed a petition in the Gauhati High Court to further delay the elections. The Court then directed the WFI's ad-hoc body, which is in charge of the federation currently, and the Sports Ministry to put the election on hold, until the next hearing, which is scheduled for July 17.
Demand 3: A woman should head WFI's Internal Complains Committee
Status update: This can happen only when the elections take place. And when will the elections take place? Only time will tell. The WFI is already running on a warning issued by the global body United World Wrestling (UWW), which said it will suspend the federation if it does not conduct its elections as per its earlier plan.
Demand 4: Brij Bhushan or his family members cannot contest the elections
Status update: Brij Bhushan, by default, cannot contest in the elections as he has already completed 12 years as the WFI president. He is ineligible for another run as president as per the National Sports Code. The wrestlers demanded that his family members also cannot contest in the elections. However, that is against the WFI's constitution.
The Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association had nominated Brij Bhushan and his son Karan to vote in the elections. Karan, who was the vice president of the WFI, is also said to have been nominated for the president post. Further to this, Brij Bhushan's son-in-law Vishal Singh, president of the Bihar wrestling association, has also been nominated.
Wrestlers' protest: Medal or not, their names and feats will live on anyway
Demand 5: Withdrawal of FIRs filed against wrestlers
Status update: The wrestlers wanted the police to withdraw the FIRs registered against them on May 28 when they attempted to march for 'Mahila Samman Mahapanchayat' on the same day when the new Parliament building was being inaugurated. There has been no update on this since.
What's happening with the Asian Games trials?
The protesting wrestlers had requested the Sports Ministry to give them additional time to prepare for the Asian Games trials. The WFI was supposed to send the final list of participants to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) by July 15, but the trials are yet to be held.
ESPN has learnt that the WFI has sought an extension from the OCA until August 10, but at the time of writing this report, they have only received a one-week extension. This complicates matters because Bajrang Punia is currently training in a 36-day training camp in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, while Vinesh Phogat is likely to train in Hungary for 18 days.
How will the Asian Games trials be held?
A senior administrator working with the ad-hoc committee told ESPN that the trials will be held in two phases. The first phase will be held among the competitors who are currently in India and the top three will be selected for the second phase of trials. Subsequently, once Vinesh and Bajrang return, they will compete in a competition against the three shortlisted candidates and the winner of that will win the berth for the Asian Games.