Key witness Anita Sheoran joins race to succeed Brij Bhushan as WFI chief

Anita Sheoran is among four candidates eyeing for the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) presidency. The 38-year-old grappler from Haryana is a witness in the alleged harassment case against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh. Anita filed her candidature for the vacant president's position in WFI on Monday, 31 July.

She is also the only female to be running for the top position. If wins, she will become the first woman to lead the federation since its inception. The only lady candidate on the WFI executive committee members' list is Anita Sheoran, representing Odisha. Sheoran was one of the witnesses in the alleged sexual harassment case against Brij Bhushan. She is a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medal-winning wrestler.

India's six top wrestlers including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat had levelled charges of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan. He is ineligible to contest as he has completed 12 years as head of the federation -- the maximum period allowed as per the National Sports Code.