Wrestlers seek UWW intervention in resolving wrestling crisis in India

Several international medal-winning wrestlers from different states have approached the world governing body UWW, requesting its intervention for restoration of the suspended WFI and accused Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik of orchestrating a "fake agitation".

The three wrestlers had led a protest against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, alleging that he has sexually exploited women wrestlers and sought his arrest.

The matter is being heard by a Delhi court and Brij Bhushan is out on bail.

The National camps have not been held for a long time due to the ongoing tussle between the elite wrestlers and the BJP MP. An ad-hoc panel ran the sport till recently but was brought back to handle day-to-day affairs of the sports body after the newly-elected body was suspended by the Sports Ministry.
 

"I would like to inform you that due to fake agitation of three wrestlers, the wrestling in India has been destroyed. I am a woman wrestler but I did not face any sexual demand from the previous president," wrote an Asian Games and CWG medal-winning wrestler.
 

"I thought after the election of WFI, this controversy will be over but these three wrestlers are trying to damage wrestling in India. Being a woman wrestler, I personally contacted many women wrestlers but no one corroborated the version of these wrestlers.

"My humble request to UWW is to interfere in the matter and a permanent Federation may please be established in India otherwise wrestling will be destroyed," the Arjuna awardee added.

It may be mentioned that United World Wrestling (UWW) had suspended the WFI on August 24 for not holding elections on time and Indian wrestlers had to compete as neutral athletes at the World Championships last year.

A junior wrestler from Maharashtra, in her letter to UWW President Nenad Lalovic, wrote how their careers have been stalled in the absence of junior national championships.

"Since two years, there is no sub junior and junior competition, the wrestlers are not getting the chance to show their talent as there are only three senior players (creating controversy) and on top of that due to politics, a big crisis has come...... Please give justice to Indian wrestlers by activating Wrestling Federation of India," the wrestler wrote.
 

The newly elected body WFI had announced immediately after the polls that U15 and U20 Nationals will be held in the last week of December in Gonda, UP but due to WFI suspension, the competitions could not be held.

Interestingly, the minor who filed a sexual harassment complaint against Brij Bhushan before withdrawing it, also wrote to the UWW admitting that her father filed a fake complaint against the former WFI boss.

She even said that she did it under the influence of Punia, Phogat and Malik.

"This was all fake. Nothing happened to me. I came under pressure from the top three wrestlers but I did not know what they really wanted from me.

"When I came to know that they had filed a fake complaint through my father, I immediately refuted it and appeared in the court and accepted that nothing happened to me. Now I understand that these three wrestlers are ruining the careers of all the wrestlers.

"I am an innocent female wrestler, I could not understand the conspiracy. I am feeling guilty now and request you to kindly take note of this. I don't want that wrestling goes down in India."

Several other wrestlers alleged that now that there is nothing left in the careers of Punia, Malik and Phogat, they can afford to be involved in controversies but due to their actions, careers of others are getting impacted adversely.