WFI disqualifies over 500 wrestlers over age fraud at U-17 ranking meet after Aadhaar verification crackdown
Over 500 Wrestlers Disqualified in U-17 Nationals Over Age Fraud in Gonda
Wrestling Federation of India disqualifies over 500 wrestlers in U-17 wrestling tournament after Aadhaar checks
WFI cracks down on age fraud, disqualifies 500-plus wrestlers at U-17 ranking meet
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has launched a major crackdown on age fraud, disqualifying more than 500 wrestlers from the U-17 National Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda after introducing stringent Aadhaar-based verification that uncovered widespread mismatches in age and birth records.
The tournament, held from June 6 to 8 in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district, saw around 1,200 wrestlers register across men's freestyle, Greco Roman and women's categories.
Apart from the mandatory birth certificates used for age verification, wrestlers were required to produce Aadhaar cards linked to their mobile numbers and complete OTP authentication through the Aadhaar app, which maintains a record of changes made to the document.
The verification drive led to the disqualification of nearly 500 wrestlers — around 300 in men's freestyle, 125 in Greco Roman and about 50 in women's wrestling — after inconsistencies were found between birth certificates and Aadhaar records.
In several cases, the place of birth and date of birth recorded in Aadhaar did not match those mentioned in birth certificates, many of which had been issued years after the wrestler's birth.
One such case that raised suspicion involved a wrestler whose documents showed conflicting details: a birth certificate listing his date of birth as 2007 and place of birth as Delhi's Narela area, while his Aadhaar records indicated he was born in Haryana in 2004.
The discrepancy prompted the WFI to seek clarification from the hospital that issued the birth certificate.
Following the verification process, only 350 wrestlers in men's freestyle, 185 women wrestlers and 160 Greco Roman wrestlers were cleared to compete in the tournament.
WFI president Sanjay Singh said the federation remains committed to ensuring fairness in age-group competitions.
"We are determined to eradicate age fraud from wrestling. Genuine athletes suffer when overage competitors participate in age-group events. The Aadhaar verification process has helped us identify discrepancies and we will continue to implement it strictly in all future U-15, U-17 and U-20 competitions," Singh said.
The federation recently suspended five wrestlers after detecting fake birth certificates during scrutiny of documents, underscoring its continued effort to curb manipulation of age records.
WFI officials said the same verification protocol will be enforced at upcoming age-group events, including the U-17 World Championship women's trials in Sonepat on June 14 and the men's trials in Lucknow on June 15, as the federation intensifies its crackdown on age fraud.