Two separate trials in Haryana for National Championships | Wrestling

Cracks of the Brij Bhushan vs Wrestlers divide are now visible in the state wrestling federations.

In a puzzling move, the Haryana Wrestling Federation has announced two separate trials for the same Senior National Championships.

The state body is divided into two factions - one in favour of the BJP MP and one against.

As per a Hindustan Times report, the president of Haryana Wrestling Association (HWA), Rohtash Singh has called for trials to be held between January 17 and 18 in Sonepat.

Meanwhile, general secretary Rakesh Singh has announced that trials will take place on January 13 and 14 in Hisar.

Rohtash Singh reportedly was a staunch Brij Bhushan supporter before switching sides and now leans towards the protesting wrestlers.

Rohtash also ran for the post of joint secretary in the national body elections but lost.

The general secretary, on the other hand, has the new Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Sanjay Singh's backing.

The tussle in the state body is a direct result of the mess at the top.

The IOA-led ad-hoc panel had announced National Championships from February 2-5 in Jaipur but the suspended WFI had rejected these dates, calling them illegal.

The WFI went on to state that it would conduct separate championships.

Anurag Thakur-led Sports Ministry suspended the newly-elected WFI on December 24 citing violation of the National Sports Code and the WFI constitution.

But the national body has stated it does not recognise the suspension nor the IOA-constituted ad-hoc panel and plans to challenge the suspension in court.