“Lost Many Medals”: WFI Chief Sanjay Singh Blames Wrestlers’ Protest
The President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Sanjay Singh, remarked that India could have won six medals in wrestling alone, but the disturbances in the sport over the last 15-16 months negatively impacted the prospects.
Singh made the “disturbances” remark referring to the wrestler’s protest in Delhi, which started in January 2023, where India’s top wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Bajrang Punia, accused the former WFI chief, Brij Bhushan, of sexual harassment, stalking, and intimidation against five women wrestlers, including a minor.
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Singh, Brij Bhushan’s aide, also stated that India had sent a six-member contingent, but only Aman Sehrawat brought home a medal. Sehrawat won the bronze medal in the men’s 57 kg category, defeating Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz.
“If you look at it from the other angle, the protests that took place for 14-15 months, the entire wrestling fraternity was disturbed. Let alone one category, the wrestlers in the other category struggled as they could not practice without national and international tournaments. Hence, the wrestlers could not perform well,” Singh said, as quoted by India Today.
During the protests, international bodies, including the United World Wrestling (UWW) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), condemned the manhandling and arrest of the wrestlers. After the inaction of the central government against the BJP MP, the Supreme Court intervened, and FIRs were filed under the POCSO Act.
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After Bhushan resigned, Singh, his close friend, was elected as the new WFI chief amid protests. Following which, Sakshi Malik, India’s only woman wrestler with an Olympic medal, announced her retirement.
After Phogat’s disqualification from the Olympics games, the Court of Arbitrary for Sport (CAS) is yet to announce its verdict after the Indian wrestler appealed for a (shared) silver medal. The verdict, which was to be announced last night, has been postponed to August 16.
