Sakshi Malik has announced her retirement from wrestling, as the Olympic medallist confirmed she would not compete under newly-elected Wrestling Federation of India president, Sanjay Kumar Singh – who she termed a ‘right-hand’ of former WFI president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia also underlined their disappointment with the results of the election, saying that it was unfortunate that the government did not bar Brij Bhushan’s loyalists from contesting the election, while Vinesh noted that the alleged exploitation of women wrestlers would continue.
Sakshi announced her retirement in clear terms, placing her shoes upon the table and saying “We slept for 40 days on the roads and a lot of people from several parts of the country came to support us. Now that Brij Bhushan Singh’s business partner and a close aide has been elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling [breaks down]…I thank all my country-men who supported us until today.”
An emotional Sakshi, who left the press conference in tears, noted that not a single woman contestant was elected, saying “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.”
#WATCH | Delhi: Wrestler Sakshi Malik breaks down as she leaves after addressing a press conference.
Former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s aide Sanjay Singh has been elected as the new president of the Wrestling Federation of India. pic.twitter.com/Rc85nAkvgy
– ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2023
Vinesh Phogat expressed her disappointment at Singh’s election, saying “It’s unfortunate that such people are getting elected to such positions in the country. Now, girls will be harassed again. It’s sad that even after fighting against it, we couldn’t bring any changes. I don’t know how to get justice in our own country.”
“There were minimal hopes, but we hope that we get justice. It’s sad that the future of wrestling is in the dark. To whom shall we convey our grief?… We are still fighting.”
Bajrang Punia noted that they still had hopes with the nation’s judiciary, saying “18-20 girls had given evidence in front of the Oversight committee. After that, the Sports Minister stood in front of the cameras and media and said no one linked with Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh would be part of the WFI. But unfortunately, we waited for that committee for 21 days, and then 2-3 months and then resumed our protest – the entirety of India saw it. We were fighting for truth and women, else we were also active athletes and winning medals for the country. I don’t think the daughters will get justice because the way this system has worked, efforts are being made to break the daughters. There are six girls left from the 20, and efforts are still being made to break them. Still, we have faith on the judiciary.”
