Uttar Pradesh government adopts Indian wrestling until 2032 Brisbane Olympics

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to adopt Indian wrestling until the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and is expected to pump in an investment of INR 170 crore, reported PTI.

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said the decision was taken after taking inspiration from the Odisha government that supports Indian hockey.

“Odisha is a small state, yet they are supporting hockey in such a great manner, so we thought, why can't UP, which is such a big state, support wrestling. We approached them and the CM Yogi Adityanath has accepted it," Singh was quoted by PTI as saying.

He added:

"In our proposal, we have asked for Rs 10 crore support every year till the 2024 Games (Rs 30 crore) and in the next Olympic cycle till 2028, we have asked for a support of Rs 15 crore per year (Rs 60 crore) and in the final phase till 2032, it is Rs 20 crore per year (Rs 80 crore)," he said explaining the details.

Sharan highlighted that the move will also help cadet level wrestlers. He said they would also get sponsorship, which was earlier mostly restricted to only the elite wrestlers.

"With this happening, sponsorships will not be restricted to just the country's elite wrestlers. Even the Cadet level wrestlers will get sponsorship and we will be able to give prize money to even national champions," he said.

The WFI president also said the arrangement with the UP government would allow them to plan exposure trips to foreign countries to wrestle at cadet and junior levels.

"As of now, only the senior and elite level wrestlers have personal coaches and guidance of foreign coaches. But we can also invest heavily in training our cadets and junior wrestlers. Now we can send our Cadet wrestlers abroad for training and exposure. We need to take wrestling to the next level," he said.

What happens to the private companies who support wrestling?

As of now, there is no news whether WFI will allow private NGOs like OGQ and JSW to support wrestling. Singh is reportedly open to joining hands but has a condition.

"We actually did not need them even before. But if they want to support, they are welcome. All we want is that they stay transparent with WFI. They can't make their own secret deals with the wrestlers. If at all they want to help, they can sit with us and prepare plans with us," Singh said.