Rahul Gandhi Meets Wrestlers In Haryana’s Jhajjar As They Vow To Return Awards

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi went to Haryana’s Jhajhar today morning to meet with the protesting wrestlers. He also met Olympic medal winner Bajrang Punia and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Deepak Punia in the meeting held at Virendra Akhara, where both the wrestlers started their wrestling.

The Congress leader”s visit to the wrestlers take place amidst the heated dispute going on over the new appointed leaders of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), and the announcement of U-15 and U-20 nationals by the WFI without prior information to the wrestlers. The sports stars then decided to return the national recognitions awarded to them by the government. The sports Ministry has suspended the wrestling body.

Wrestling coach Virendra Arya said they were unaware about Mr. Gandhi’s visit. He said, “nobody told us that he is coming. We were practicing here and he came all of a sudden. He reached here around 6:15 am and exercised with us. He told us about his exercise and sport. He has a lot of knowledge about sports”. The coach also raised the question of what could Rahul Gandhi do about the Nationals, as “only the government can do something”. Bajrang Punia said during the visit, Rahul Gandhi actively participated in wrestling exercises with him, showing the opposition leader’s interest in understanding the daily routine and life of a wrestler.

Following Bajrang Punia and Virender Singh Yadav, Vinesh Phogat, two-time World Championship medal winner, decided to give back his Khel Ratn and Arjuna award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He claimed that such honours are meaningless when the wrestlers are struggling badly for justice. The appointment of Sanjay Singh as WFI president has caused outrage. Singh is said to be a close associate of the former WFI president Brij Bushan Sharan Singh, against whom, the wrestlers are protesting over sexual violence.