Despite protests from fellow wrestlers seeking exemption from trials at the Asian Games, the protesting wrestlers on Saturday refused to request such endorsement from the IOA ad-hoc panel and said they would quit wrestling if proved so.
London Olympics bronze medalist Yogeshwar Dutt on Friday questioned the decision of the ad-hoc panel and asked whether these wrestlers were agitating against the WFI chief to get such support.
Additionally, he urged junior wrestlers, their parents and coaches to speak up against this injustice.
Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat addressed their followers on social media in response to the comments made by the former wrestler and current BJP leader. Dutt had also made some additional allegations.
Sakshi Malik said, “We didn’t ask for exemption from trial, just asked for time to prepare.”
Malik, a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, said, “We didn’t take away anyone’s rights. We only sought time as we are away from wrestling for six months, but you are spreading wrong information.”
Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Bajrang has said he will quit wrestling if it is proved that he requested only one bout trial for the Asian Games and World Championships.
“If you had a problem with the one-trial match, you should have approached the sports minister and asked on what basis they are taking the trial. But you decided to spread venom through social media,” he said.
“If it is proved that we asked for exemption, we are ready to quit wrestling. We never wrote any letter for exemption. If our elders feel that we have done something wrong. We will quit wrestling.”
However, none of the three wrestlers indicated whether they would accept direct entry into the finals or compete in a full draw.
It is learned that the two coaches added to the ad-hoc panel – Gyan Singh and Ashok Garg – had requested for exemption from trials for the six wrestlers.
Gyan Singh and Ashok Garg were present during the protest by the wrestlers at Jantar Mantar.
Sakshi requested Dutt not to spread the misconception that the six wrestlers “just wanted to win and participate in a trial”.
He said, “In our lives, we have never been without a trial and have never deprived a junior.”
Bajrang’s wife Sangeeta Phogat, Sakshi’s husband Satyavart Kadian and Jitendra Kinha were exempted from this rule.
On Friday, Dutt questioned the logic and criteria of the decision in a video posted on Twitter.
In response to Dutt’s tweet, Vinesh criticized Dutt, claiming that the wrestling community would remember him as Brij Bhushan’s slacker servant.
Dutt was one of six people appointed by the government to investigate allegations of sexual harassment against Singh.
Furthermore, Bajrang alleged that Dutt had cheated himself by participating in the 2015 World Championships despite being unfit.
“In 2015, you (Dutt) cheated the country. I have proof of it. You went for ACL surgery just a month before the World Championships. The other person was Amit Dhankhar. He could have qualified but because of your injury You neither played the tournament nor mentioned your weight (category).”
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) suffered an embarrassment when Dutt was forced to withdraw from the 2015 Wrestling World Championships in the United States after being found unfit at the last minute.
Read this also | Wrestlers protest: United World Wrestling ‘strongly’ condemns behavior against them
read this also , Wrestling Federation of India elections will be held on July 6: Returning Officer