Ad-hoc committee shifts women's national camp to Patiala

05/11/2023

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Finally, there is something that seems to be going the wrestlers' way. The protest is in its third week now, and the IOC-appointed ad-hoc committee has decided the women's national camp will now be held at the Sports Authority of India's Patiala center in the future, instead of Lucknow.

"The ad-hoc committee also decided that the national camps would be held at SAI Sonipat (men's Greco-Roman and freestyle) and SAI Patiala (women's wrestling) in future," read a statement.

"This combined national camp was discussed at the meeting. It was brought to the notice of the panel members that parents of women wrestlers were not in favour of their daughters training alongside the men's wrestlers in Sonepat," a source had told PTI.

"The parents fear that 'cases of love affairs' may rise if that happens. This was precisely the reason why the WFI had separated the two camps in 2013." The decision was taken keeping in mind a number of factors. Even though the girls were comfortable training in Delhi's IG Stadium, but it does not have a hostel.

"There is an option of holding the national camp for women in Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat) but it remains to be seen if the athletes agree to go that far," the source said.

"It was also proposed that the men's wrestlers be sent to Lucknow and the women train in Sonepat but the coaches and referees did not agree to that."