Wrestling in India is going through a tough time following the grapplers’ protests against former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh – accused of sexually harassing the female wrestlers.
New Delhi: Wrestler Bajrang Punia, who had returned the Padma Shri to the Prime Minister, in protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections, has urged the Sports Ministry to restart the sporting activities in view of the Paris Olympics that starts in few months’ time. Wrestling has grabbed the headlines in Indian media in the last several months owing to the turmoil within the fraternity following the grapplers’ protests against former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Brij Bhushan, who is a BJP MP, has been accused of sexually harassing the female wrestlers.
Even the election of a new Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) committee could not restore normalcy as the Sports Ministry suspended the Sanjay Singh-led panel citing the violation of its own constitution in announcing the national U-15 and U-20 Championships.
“Wrestling activities have come to a standstill for the last several months. Neither has any nationals been held nor have any camps been organised to prepare the players (for Paris Olympics),” Punia wrote on his ‘X’ account.
Punia’s return of Padma Shri came in protest over the election of Sanjay Singh, a Brij Bhushan loyalist, further said the preparation for the Olympics needed urgent attention. “There is an Olympic Games after seven months but no one seems serious about it. Wrestling has given four consecutive medals in the last four Olympics,” he said.
Punia, a 65kg freestyle bronze winner in Tokyo Olympics, said the officials should keep in mind the players’ future. “So, I request the Sports Ministry to start all wrestling activities as soon as possible so that the future of the players can be saved,” he added.
In the recent days, a slew of protest measures from the grapplers took the centre stage as Sakshi Malik decided to retire from wrestling while Vinesh Phogat decided to return her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award in a letter addressed to PM Narendra Modi.