Outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh claims 22 out of 25 state units attended meeting hosted by him

Brij Bhushan, who has been accused of sexual harassment by several women wrestlers, added that he will announce ‘his candidates’ for the upcoming WFI elections on Monday. New Delhi: Outgoing Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh claimed that 22 out of 25 state units attended a meeting hosted by him on Sunday, adding that “his candidates” for various posts for the federation elections on 12 August will be announced on Monday. Brij Bhushan, against whom the country’s six top wrestlers including Olympic medallists Bajranj Punia and Sakshi Malik and Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat had levelled allegations of sexual harassment and sat in protest at Jantar Mantar, is ineligible to contest as he has completed 12 years as head of the federation — the maximum period allowed as per the National Sports Code. A state unit member, who attended the meeting said on the condition of anonymity, that the BJP leader’s son-in-law Vishal Singh, who was widely being touted as Brij Bhushan’s successor for the top WFI post, will not contest the 12 August election for any top position. “The names of J&K wrestling body chief Dushyant Sharma, Kartar Singh and Jai Prakash also came up,” said the source, adding, “the names of UP’s state unit officials, Prem Kumar Mishra and Sanjay Singh, were also discussed for key posts.” The day-to-day activities of the WFI are being managed by the Indian Olympic Association-constituted ad-hoc committee, led by Wushu Association of India chief Bhupender Singh Bajwa.