REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: In a letter addressed to UIDAI CEO Saurabh Garg on June 18, WFI president Sanjay Kumar Singh said the federation had noticed multiple instances of wrestlers allegedly reducing their age through changes in date of birth records, a practice that came under scrutiny during a recent age-verification exercise. | Photo Credit: AFP

Amid its ongoing crackdown on age fraud, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has urged the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to permanently preserve Aadhaar update histories relating to date-of-birth changes and restrict such modifications after a considerable passage of time except in exceptional and thoroughly verified cases.

In a letter addressed to UIDAI CEO Saurabh Garg on June 18, WFI president Sanjay Kumar Singh said the federation had noticed multiple instances of wrestlers allegedly reducing their age through changes in date of birth records, a practice that came under scrutiny during a recent age-verification exercise.

The federation said the issue surfaced prominently during the U-17 National Open Ranking Wrestling Tournament held in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, from June 6 to 8. WFI had disqualified around 500 wrestlers for being overage, while several registered athletes did not report for participation amid the verification process.

The federation had made Aadhaar-linked authentication mandatory, along with birth certificates and other documents, to check the eligibility of participants in age-group competitions.

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“During the exercise, officials examined Aadhaar Update History records available on the UIDAI portal and found cases in which dates of birth had allegedly been modified, in some instances by four to five years,” WFI wrote on the letter, accessed by PTI.

The federation also claimed that some wrestlers who had altered their dates of birth were now attempting to have their Aadhaar update histories removed or concealed. It requested UIDAI to ensure that historical records relating to date-of-birth modifications are permanently retained and remain accessible for verification purposes.

Seeking broader reforms, the WFI asked UIDAI to consider adopting safeguards that would prevent changes to dates of birth after a substantial lapse of time save exceptional and thoroughly verified cases.

“The matter is of utmost importance in ensuring transparency and preventing age fraud in sports,” the federation said in the letter.

The move comes amid a wider push by sports authorities to tackle age manipulation in junior level competitions.

Earlier this year, the Sports ministry notified the National Code Against Age Fraud in Sports, 2025, laying down stricter mechanisms for age verification across disciplines.

On June 4, WFI had suspended five wrestlers, including U20 Asian Championship trials winner Deepanshu, for four years after their birth certificates were found to be fake during a verification exercise.

Age fraud has long been a contentious issue in Indian sport, particularly in wrestling, boxing and football, where athletes competing in younger age categories can gain a significant competitive advantage.

The WFI has tightened its verification procedures by making Aadhaar-based authentication a key component of the registration process for age-group competitions, in addition to the submission of birth certificates and other supporting documents.

Published on Jun 20, 2026