Five Wrestlers Suspended For Four Years By WFI Over Fake Birth Certificates

Published 5 June 2026 · india

Five Wrestlers Suspended For Four Years By WFI Over Fake Birth Certificates Published By, Last Updated: June 05, 2026, 10:42 IST The action forms part

Five Wrestlers Suspended For Four Years By WFI Over Fake Birth Certificates Published By, Last Updated: June 05, 2026, 10:42 IST The action forms part of the Wrestling Federation of India's wider efforts to eliminate age manipulation in age-group competitions. WFI said wrestlers are submitting forged birth certificates to gain eligibility for participation in Championships. (AFP Photo) As many as five wrestlers, including U20 Asian Championship trials winner Deepanshu, have been suspended by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Thursday for four years after a verification exercise found that their birth certificates were fake. The action is part of the federation’s ongoing crackdown on age fraud in the sport. Deepanshu, who won the men’s freestyle 65kg event on Wednesday, has been replaced in the Indian squad by Pawan Balaji Dhayagude for the U20 Asian Championship, which begins on June 27 in Pattaya, Thailand. The other wrestlers suspended are Tanuj Antil, Baljot Singh, Nikhil Dalal and Saket Drall. Saket had reached the final of the 86kg trials but was removed from the competition after the findings. He was replaced by Sahil Dalal, who eventually secured a place in the Indian team.

In an order issued by WFI president Sanjay Kumar Singh, the federation said it had taken a “very serious view" of wrestlers submitting forged birth certificates to gain eligibility for participation in Wrestling Championships. According to the WFI, discrepancies in birth certificates have surfaced in several cases over recent months, resulting in suspensions and attracting widespread attention across print, electronic and social media. “Despite the action already taken, some wrestlers allegedly continued attempting to compete in national events by submitting alternative or fabricated documents," WFI said in its notice. The federation stated that verification carried out with the Registrar (Birth and Death), Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, confirmed that the birth certificates submitted by the five wrestlers were not genuine. It added that the corresponding records could not be found in the official registers. Describing the violations as serious, the WFI initiated disciplinary proceedings and suspended all five wrestlers from wrestling-related activities conducted under its aegis for four years with immediate effect. The latest action forms part of the federation’s wider efforts to eliminate age manipulation, a long-standing problem in age-group wrestling competitions across India. Show-cause notice to referee commission member In a separate development, the WFI issued a show-cause notice to referee Jaibir, a member of the WFI Referee Commission, over allegations of conflict of interest and misconduct during the Asian Games selection trials held in Lucknow on May 31.