Keeping performance as the only yardsticks, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has graded 24 senior players for the central contracts which came into effect from November 15. The WFI initiative is aided and supported by their commercial partners, Sporty Solutionz.
Honb’le CM of UP posses with the wrestlers in Gaunda during the Tata Motors 63rd Men’s and 21st Women’s Wrestling National Championship .
The biggest beneficiary are Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Pooja Dhanda who have been put in the ‘A’ category. The others have been divided in four other categories – B to E.
The three marquee wrestlers will get an annual retainership of ₹ 30 lakh, besides other benefits.
In a glittering inaugural ceremony of the Senior Nationals at Nandininagar, Gonda, UP, where Honb’le Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath was the chief guest, WFI Chief,Brij Bhushan Saran Singh has officially announced the central contracts to the wrestlers. The WFI, thus, becomes first national sports federation under the aegis of the Indian Olympic Association to grant annual contracts to its athletes.
Only, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has been doing this in the past.
Among those present on the occasion included World Championship silver medallist Bajrang Punia, Asian Games gold medal winner Vinesh Phogat, World Championship bronze winner Pooja Dhanda, 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist Saksi Malik and close to 800 participants who have convened here for the Tata Motors 63rd Men’s and 21st Women’s Wrestling Championship.
Speaking on the occasion, Brij Bhushan Saran Singh said that 144 grapplers, including those at the grassroots level, will receive funds under different slabs of the scheme. WFI is the only Olympic sport body that has taken such an initiative for the benefit of its wrestlers on the lines of BCCI’s central contract system to its cricket players.