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Explained: Why WFI suspended Olympic medalist Aman Sehrawat
08 Oct 2025

In a major development, Paris 2024 Olympics bronze medalist Aman Sehrawat has been handed a one-year suspension by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

According to reports, this is the first time an Indian sports federation has suspended an Olympic medalist for disciplinary reasons.

The decision comes after Sehrawat was found overweight at the World Wrestling Championships held in Zagreb, Croatia.

What was the matter?
Disqualification details

Sehrawat, who became India's youngest-ever Olympic medalist at the Paris 2024 Games, was disqualified from the World event for not making weight for his first bout against Vladimir Erogov. He was 1.7kg over the limit at the weigh-in.

The Haryana wrestler trains at Delhi's Chhatrasal Stadium and had won a bronze in the men's freestyle wrestling (57kg) event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Sehrawat's response found unsatisfactory
Suspension details

The WFI issued a show-cause notice to Sehrawat on September 23, after his disqualification at the World Championships.

The federation held a formal hearing on October 5, where Sehrawat's response was found unsatisfactory.

Consequently, he was suspended for tarnishing "the image of the nation on the global stage."

The suspension rules him out of both national and international wrestling for a year. Therefore, he will miss the Asian Games next year.

Coaches also issued warning letters
Suspension rationale

The WFI's letter detailing Sehrawat's suspension said, "You failed to maintain the prescribed weight category (57kg) for which you were officially selected, thereby depriving India of a potential medal opportunity and causing significant financial loss due to the expenditure incurred by the government of India for your participation and training."

The federation also issued warning letters to coaches Jagminder Singh, Virendra, Narender, and Vinod.

Who is Aman Sehrawat?
Profile

Sehrawat, who was born on July 16, 2003, hails from the Jhajjar district in Haryana, India.

Sehrawat sought inspiration from Indian wrestler Sushil Kumar's achievement at the 2012 London Olympics, where the latter won silver.

Cut to 2024 when Sehrawat won the bronze medal in the men's freestyle 57kg wrestling category at the Paris Games.

At 21, he became the youngest Indian to win an individual Olympic medal. He is also a two-time junior world champion (2021 and 2022).