WFI Bars U-17 Wrestler Over Birth Certificate Discrepancy Cites Age Fraud Concerns

New Delhi, April 28: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Monday barred an under-17 wrestler from taking part in the National Championships in Sambhaji Nagar after discrepancies were found in her birth documents during verification.

The athlete, entered in the women's 57kg category for Madhya Pradesh, was stopped after officials detected inconsistencies in two separate birth certificates submitted by her family.

According to documents reviewed by PTI, one certificate issued in Madhya Pradesh lists her date of birth as August 26, 2010, but shows registration and issuance dated November 16, 2021, more than a decade after birth. The document is linked to a Sheopur district gram panchayat.

When questioned, the wrestler's father reportedly presented another birth certificate from Rajasthan. That document also records the same date of birth but shows registration dated September 1, 2010, from Sriganganagar, with birth recorded at a private nursing home. However, it was issued in April 2025.

The father maintained there was no wrongdoing, stating the family had obtained a new certificate after relocating to Madhya Pradesh. However, WFI officials rejected the explanation, raising concerns over how multiple state-issued documents could exist without proper cross-verification.

"This raises serious concerns. How are such certificates being issued without proper checks?" a WFI official said, adding that duplication across states undermines age-verification systems in sport.

The federation also flagged similar cases in recent months and called for stronger coordination between state authorities and stricter verification mechanisms to curb age fraud in age-group competitions.