WFI Suspends 11 Wrestlers Over Fake Birth Certificates in Crackdown on Age and Domicile Fraud

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has suspended 11 wrestlers for allegedly submitting fake birth certificates, intensifying its ongoing crackdown on age and domicile fraud in the sport. The suspensions follow an investigation in which the WFI asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to verify the authenticity of documents for 110 athletes.

The MCD’s findings revealed that 95 certificates were genuine but issued through delayed registrations — in some cases 12 to 15 years after birth — and only upon orders from a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). However, 11 certificates were found to be fake, photoshopped, or altered.

The suspended wrestlers are Saksham, Manuj, Kavita, Anshu, Arush Rana, Shubham, Gautam, Jagrup Dhankar, Nakul, Dushyant, and Siddharth Baliyan. Six of these certificates originated from the Narela zone, two from Najafgarh, and one each from Rohini, Civil Lines, and City zone.

“We have sent a suspension notice to six of these wrestlers today (August 7). We had already suspended five others for submitting fake certificates,” a WFI official confirmed. “The WFI is keen to clean up the system… No one should get any unfair advantage.”

The misuse of false documents has been a recurring challenge in Indian wrestling, with athletes attempting to gain an edge by competing in lower age groups or representing states other than their own. Haryana, known as India’s wrestling stronghold, faces particularly fierce competition, prompting some wrestlers to use fraudulent papers to qualify for neighbouring Delhi’s team.

The MCD also reported that two wrestlers had manipulated their registration dates, creating discrepancies between their documents and official records.

Separately, a complaint has been filed with the Sports Ministry by Neeraj Kumar, father of Delhi wrestler Ritika, over the alleged violation of domicile rules at a recent state-level meet. Kumar claims that Haryana wrestler Ishika was allowed to compete in Delhi’s 53kg category, despite WFI’s policy requiring representation from an athlete’s state of residence. “I request you to order an inquiry into the issue so that transparency prevails,” he wrote in his letter.

With the suspensions and investigations underway, the WFI’s actions mark one of its strongest pushes yet to ensure fairness and integrity in competition. As the federation vows to “continue to do the needful,” the message to the wrestling community is clear — fraudulent practices will not be tolerated.