Tokyo olympics – WFI Upset with OGQ & JSW: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is very upset with NGO’s like Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) & JSW. According to WFI, these organizations are completely destroying & ‘spoiling the wrestlers’ & ‘affecting their performance’.
“The WFI and the Indian government is capable of supporting all its athletes. JSW and OGQ don’t need to come from ‘chor darwaja’ (back door) and spoil our wrestlers. I urge them that they leave our wrestlers and Indian wrestling alone,” WFI President Brij Bhushan declared.
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Tokyo Olympics: WFI very upset with OGQ & JSW, says ‘no interference will be tolerated, they are spoiling our wrestlers’
Why is WFI Upset with these organizations?
- It has been learnt that WFI was not happy that spouses of the wrestlers travelled abroad to be with their partners when they (wrestlers) were training ahead of the Olympics with the NGOs facilitating the travel.
- WFI feels these organizations just come and select top wrestlers and leave them in lurch if they don’t perform. According to WFI, none of them come and support the athletes at the GRASSROOT Levels – the way WFI Sponsor TATA MOTORS is supporting the sport.
- The WFI was also unhappy that Vinesh Phogat travelled to Hungary where good sparring partners were not available & finally it led to loss of medal for the country at the Olympics.
“We are not happy with the way they are interfering. If they want to help the wrestlers, they are welcome but let them work at the grassroots level. It’s the Cadets who need support.
“They pick only established wrestlers and leave them when the results are not there. The government is spending crores of rupees on their coaching and travel and these people give a physio and start making tall claims,” declared WFI President.
“If they want to come and support, let them come from the front door like the Tata Motors is doing,” he said.
WFI to talk with Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya and other wrestlers before taking calls on Support Staff for the Wrestlers
Tokyo olympics – WFI Upset with OGQ & JSW: WFI on Thursday said it will consider feedback from Tokyo Games medallists Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya before deciding their coaching staff in the new Olympic cycle but will not accept any interference of NGOs like JSW and OGQ in the name of support to athletes.
Bajrang was trained by Georgia’s Shako Bentinidis while Ravi had Russia’s Kamal Malikov as his personal coach. Deepak Punia also had a Russian coach in Murad Gaidarov, whose services were terminated by the WFI when he assaulted a referee during the Tokyo Games.
All the coaches had their contracts till the Tokyo Olympics and the fresh ones will be finalised in a few days after WFI sits with the wrestlers, who are now busy with felicitations.
“Bajrang has a medal working with Shako Bentinidis. We will sit with him and listen to his view about his game. If he wants to continue (with Shako), we will consider that,” WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh told PTI.
It is understood that both Bajrang and Shako want to continue their partnership. The Georgian is already at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bahalgarh (Sonepat).
The federation is also happy with the way Malikov has managed Ravi so far and would not mind continuing with the arrangement. It is worth noting that all these foreign coaches & other support staff have been provided under WFI-TATA Motors partnership.
The arrangement has helped India winning two Olympic medals in TOKYO.
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*With Inputs from PTI
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