Fake certificates at Wrestling National Championships? Sakshee Malikkh slams suspended WFI chief Sanjay Singh

Olympic medalist Sakshee Malikkh tore into suspended Wrestling Federation of India chief Sanjay Singh, alleging that fake certificates were being given to wrestlers at the National Championships in Pune.

Sakshee shared a photo on social media, in which a “fake” certificate was given to a wrestler for winning a silver medal in a particular weight category. The year of birth of the wrestler, as seen in the certificate, was 2023.

Sakshee Malikhh also questioned how the suspended Wrestling Federation of India can host the senior national championships in Pune, saying that the Indian Olympics Association-appointed ad-hoc committee had scheduled the nationals for February in Jaipur. Sakshee urged Sports Minister Anurag Thakur to look into the issue, saying the future of young wrestlers was at stake.

“The Government of India had suspended the activities of Brij Bhushan’s associate Sanjay Singh, yet Sanjay Singh is running the National Wrestling Championship as per his wish and is distributing fake certificates to the players, which is illegal. The Wrestling National Championship organized by the Sports Ministry is to be held in Jaipur, but before that, to prove his dominance over wrestling, Sanjay Singh is illegally signing and distributing certificates of different National Championships,” Sakshee Malikkh said in her post.

“How can a suspended person of the organization misuse the money of the organization? Tomorrow when the players go to ask for jobs with these certificates, action will be taken against the poor players. Whereas there is no fault of the players.

“Action should be taken immediately against Sanjay Singh who is committing such fraud and who is still committing all these frauds despite the ban on his activities. I appeal to the Sports Minister Shri Anurag Thakur ji to look into this issue and save the future of the players from getting spoiled,” she added.

CAN SANJAY SINGH HOST NATIONALS?
Notably, the Union Sports Ministry had said that the wrestling nationals held by the WFI would not be recognised. The ad-hoc body, led by Bhupendra Singh Bajwa, then announced a separate senior national championship to be held in Jaipur from February 2-5.

However, the WFI faction, led by Sanjay Singh, remained adamant about hosting the nationals in Pune. He said over 700 wrestlers were expected to participate in the nationals from January 29 to 31.

The newly-elected Wrestling Federation of India governing body, along with its chief Sanjay Singh, was suspended days after the WFI elections. The Sports Ministry, in a strong-worded rap, slammed the newly-elected body for being under the control of its former office-bearers.

Notably, top wrestlers, including Sakshee Malikkh, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, protested the election of Sanjay Singh, alleging he was a close aide of former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who faces allegations of sexually harassing female wrestlers.