Top Women Wrestlers Accuse WFI Chief Of Assault: Vinesh Phogat Protests

On Wednesday, Vinesh Phogat along with several other popular Indian woman wrestlers like Sakshi Malik, Sarita Mor, Sangeeta Phogat, Satyawart Malik, Jitender Kinha and Sumit Malik were among the thirty wrestlers who assembled at Jantar Mantar to protest against the sexual harassments faced by women in the sport.

The protest was aimed to target the President of the WFI (Wrestling Federation of India) who is also BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Reportedly, he has been sexually exploiting women wrestlers for a long span of time.

Vinesh Phogat who is a well-known Indian wrestler and commonwealth games medallist while addressing the media officially during the dharna at Jantar Mantar told in an official statement "I know at least 10-12 women wrestlers who have told me about the sexual exploitation they faced at the hands of (the) WFI President. They told me their stories. I can't take their names now but I can definitely reveal the names if we get to meet the Prime Minister and the Home Minister of the country." Reportedly, she further claimed that several coaches at the national camp in Lucknow have also exploited women wrestlers.

Pointing at the dictatorship of the WFI, Bajrang Punia who is a bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics claimed that until and unless the federation stops working in an arbitrary manner and the President of the WFI is forced to resign from his post, no player will be participating in any international tournament. She also made it crystal clear that "Our fight is not against the government or the Sports Authority of India (SAI). This is against WFI. 'Yeh ab aar paar ki ladai hai' (It's a fight to the finish). We will continue this protest until WFI President is removed."

Vinesh Phogat protests to remove WFI Chief

Meanwhile, alongside this historic protest made by top women wrestlers to fight against the injustice against women in sports that mar the very status of wrestling in India, there are clean chit claims made by the WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh. The WFI President denied sexual harassment claims declaring "There has been no incident of sexual harassment. If such a thing has happened, then I will hang myself."

In one of her official statements, Vinesh Phogat also claims that after she lost a match in the Tokyo Olympics, the WFI chief insulted her, calling her a ‘khota sikka’. She also confessed that the WFI tortured her mentally. However, opposing these claims, the WFI chief reportedly said “After she lost the match, I only encouraged and motivated her.”

This is certainly not one single incident that involves a single hand in such exploitation. There was the mention of several other coaches who were indulged in such a brutal act who were favourites of the WFI, as told by Phogat.

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