New Delhi: Olympic medallist and star female wrestler Sakshi Malik, who was at the forefront of the grapplers' protest earlier this year, Thursday announced her retirement from the sport in protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Kumar Singh winning the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) election for the top job.
Sanjay became the new WFI president with his panel winning 13 of the 15 posts in the elections here on Thursday. Sakshi in a press conference shortly after the election results announced that she was quitting wrestling since the close aide of Brij Bhushan Singh is at the helm of the WFI.
"We slept for 40 days on the roads and a lot of people from several parts of the country came to support us. If Brij Bhushan Singh's business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling...," a teary-eyed Sakshi told reporters in a press conference on Thursday.
"We have made demands for a woman president. If the president would be a woman, harassment would not happen. But, there was no participation of women earlier and today you can see the list, not even a single woman was given a position. We had fought with complete strength but this fight will continue. The wrestlers of the new generation have to fight."
Wrestler Vineesh Phogat also expressed her disappointment on the recent appointment saying that the future of wrestling is in the dark. "There are minimal expectations but we hope that we get justice. It's saddening that the future of wrestling is in the dark. To whom shall we convey our grief?... We are still fighting".
Before the WFI elections, Olympic medal-winning wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi had repeatedly requested Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur to stop anyone associated with Brij Bhushan from contesting the polls. Consequently, neither Brij Bhushan's son Prateek nor son-in-law Vishal Singh entered the fray.
Bajrang and Vinesh Phogat, who addressed the media after the elections, did not say whether they will retire from the sport. "Unfortunately, the government did not stand by its word that no Brij Bhushan loyalist will contest the WFI election," Bajrang said. "Upcoming women wrestlers will also face exploitation," Vinesh added.
Reflecting on the reaction of the wrestlers, Brij Bhushan Singh has said that he has "nothing to do with all of this". 'I have nothing to do with this," he remarked.
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