Wrestling Federation Suspends 11 Grapplers Over Fake Birth Certificates

In a major crackdown on age fraud and domicile violations in Indian wrestling, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has suspended 11 grapplers for submitting fake birth certificates. The governing body had asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to verify the issuance of documents for 110 athletes, and the MCD confirmed that 95 of these had delayed registrations (more than a year later) that were done only on the orders of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.

This issue of overage wrestlers competing in lower age-group competitions and athletes trying to represent states other than their domicile has been plaguing the sport. Suspecting foul play, the WFI provided the MCD with a list of certificates for verification. The MCD's reply revealed that 11 of these certificates were fake, photoshopped, or edited, and not issued by the authority.

The WFI has already suspended five wrestlers and has now sent suspension notices to six more. The governing body is keen to clean up the system and ensure that no genuine wrestler is wronged. The MCD also mentioned that two wrestlers had manipulated the date of registration, which did not match their records.

This crackdown comes after a Delhi-based wrestler's father approached the sports ministry, complaining that a Haryana wrestler was allowed to compete for Delhi in a recent state-level meet, violating the domicile rule set by the WFI.