Overage and doping are two issues Wrestling Federation of India needs to firmly tackle.

Birth certificates of more than ten junior wrestlers from Narela Zone in Delhi have been found to be fake or manipulated, as per document in possession of Sportsbackstory.com. 

The Health Department of Municipal Corporation of Delhi that oversees birth and death registration has in a communication to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) stated that several candidates have either manipulated or have fake date of births as it doesn’t match the department records.

Facing overage issue, the national governing body of wrestling in India had furnished details of several junior wrestlers to MCD to verify and update WFI on the birth certificates issued by the MCD.

The MCD in its communication has stated that 11 birth certificates are fake and manipulated. “The certificates were not issued by MCD’s registration of birth and death department,” MCD said in a letter to WFI.

WFI also raised an issue that birth certificates should be issued immediately or within a short period of time. Parents of several junior wrestlers, it is learnt, apply for birth certificates later. Or after a long gap of one or two years.

The MCD has also stated that registration of birth after one year of birth is not done directly by MCD. “The 95 birth certificates issued by the MCD only after getting orders from Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and there is no lapse on the part of MCD,” Dr GR Choudhary, chief registrar of birth and death said in a communication to WFI.

It has also come to light that certain certificates issued by MCD but were later manipulated by the respective candidates.

Apart from overage, doping is another issue that WFI has been facing in the non-Olympic year. It remains to be seen what action WFI taken in this case and how it is going to tackle the overage problem that’s been rampant in recent years.