Wrestlers Banjrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and others sitting on an indication at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on January 19, 2023.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
A day after prime Indian wrestlers accused Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual exploitation of younger athletes on the ladies’s nationwide camp, Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang Punia mentioned that a number of extra wrestlers have been prepared to step ahead.
Mr. Punia referred to Mr. Singh’s defence a day in the past whereby the six-time MP had mentioned that he would “hang himself even if one girl came forward to accuse him“. “Yesterday there were two girls. Now we have five to six girls who are willing to step forward with proof,” Mr. Punia instructed the media at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar the place he and a number of other worldwide and Olympic medallists had gathered in protest since Tuesday.
The protesters acquired the assist of fellow wrestler and BJP chief Babita Phogat, who met them on Thursday, whereas Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur mentioned in Chandigarh that he would meet the wrestlers when he returns to Delhi.
Two-time world medallist and three-time Commonwealth Games champion Vinesh Phogat added that if their calls for weren’t heard, they might have to strategy the police. “Earlier we had two girls and now we have 5-6 girls who are willing to share proof. If we are not heard we will go to the police and take the matter forward,” she mentioned.
However, Ms. Phogat mentioned that whereas they’d victims prepared to converse publicly, she hoped it will not come to that. “Do not force us [the alleged victims of exploitation] to come in front of everyone. We are fighting to save our atma samman (self-respect). We don’t want to come forward and say this is what happened to us. If we are forced it will be a shame that India’s daughters have to come forward with proof in front of the media that this is what happened. We hope we will not see this black day. We will step forward with five to six FIRs if we have to. When that day comes, it will go down in India as a black day. I say this with so much shame, that if people like us can go through this, I can say this with surety that no woman anywhere in India is safe. Women and daughters should just not be born in India,” Ms. Phogat mentioned.
Mr. Punia and Ms. Phogat’s statements about approaching the police got here a number of hours after they met representatives of the Sports Ministry together with Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik to current their calls for. “In the meeting they only gave us assurance that our concerns will be looked into but we are not satisfied with what they are saying. There has been no satisfactory answer,” Malik mentioned.
“Everyone knows a wrestler missing a day’s training is like losing 100 years of practice. Today is the second day of our protest and it is our misfortune that we haven’t got a suitable answer. The accusations were made because we had truth on our side,” Phogat mentioned.
While their calls for haven’t been met, the wrestlers insist they don’t seem to be backing down. “The question is not of his [WFI president’s] resignation. That we will take anyway. If we are provoked more we will send him to jail. We want his resignation and proceedings carried out. The longer this gets delayed the worse this will get for the WFI president. Yesterday there were two girls and today there are five. Tomorrow it will be 10 and then 20,” Ms. Phogat mentioned. “We are not fighting the government. We are fighting for justice. Our fight is with the federation not the government. We are appealing to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the Supreme court to hear us. Doodh ka doodh pani ka pani ho jayega [the truth will be clear]. But at least let him [WFI president Singh] resign first,” she mentioned.
Ms. Phogat additional added, “If we are forced to do it, we are ready to file an FIR on Friday. He [Mr. Singh] finished wrestling in Uttar Pradesh due to the exploitation. Now we’ve been getting calls from girls in Maharashtra and Kerala, congratulating us for taking a stand and asking us to continue to fight for them. Imagine, if we are hearing from States that don’t have such a wrestling legacy, how far does this federation’s influence go?,” she added. “If there is no solution and world medallists and Olympians are not believed, then it is sad,” Ms. Phogat mentioned.
The protests gathered steam on Thursday with many wrestlers absent a day earlier than making their presence felt. Ms. Punia added that the overwhelming majority of India’s wrestlers have been on the aspect of the protesters. Indeed, Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya and world championships silver medallists Deepak Punia and Amit Dahiya – who had been absent on Wednesday – joined the protests on Thursday. “Yesterday you [Mr. Singh] had said only 3% of the wrestlers were protesting and 97% were on your side. Today your office is shut [WFI office is situated at Mr. Singh’s New Delhi residence near the protest site at Jantar Mantar] and we are still here,” he mentioned.
Meanwhile, assembly the guy wrestlers, Arjuna awardee Babita Phogat, the chairperson of the Haryana Women Development Corporation (HWDC), assured that she would mediate with the federal government and resolve the problem shortly.
Union Sports Minister Thakur instructed the media in Chandigarh that he would meet the protesting wrestlers when he returns to Delhi, hear to their grievances, and handle the problems. The Minister identified that the Sports Ministry had acted promptly in asking for clarification inside 72 hours from the WFI.
