Accusations flew thick and speedy between under-fire Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and most sensible names within the game, who held their sit-in protest searching for his arrest over alleged sexual harassment of girls wrestlers for the 8th day on Sunday.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Bajrang Punia declared that obtaining justice for sufferers of the alleged sexual harassment will probably be price greater than even successful a medal at this yr’s Asian Games.
Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik who’re main the protests, reiterated their call for for justice whilst addressing the media on the Jantar Mantar protest web page.
The Delhi Police, following Supreme Court’s intervention, filed two FIRs towards Singh on Friday, together with one below Section 10 of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses) Act because it concerned a minor complainant, and every other on lawsuits via six senior wrestlers. The case has been registered below IPC sections 354 (molestation), 354(A) (sexual harassment), 354(D) (stalking) and 34 (commonplace aim).
“We have full faith in the judiciary. This is a battle for justice for India’s daughters. Till the time we get justice, we will continue our struggle,” Punia said. “We will fight till the end, no matter how long it takes.”
With the present protests getting into its 2d week, the learning of those most sensible wrestlers to arrange for the Asian Games — it begins in Huangzhou on September 23 — has taken a success. Malik final competed on the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games the place she received gold. Vinesh Phogat and Punia adopted their CWG gold with a bronze every ultimately September’s global championships in Belgrade. The trio skipped the nationals in December and the 2 score sequence in February (Zagreb and Alexandria) that got here quickly after their January sit-in.
The substantial hole in coaching and the upward thrust of clean skill manner the seasoned wrestlers have a tricky highway to Hangzhou forward of them. The federation, now run via an Indian Olympic Association-appointed ad-hoc committee, is but to announce dates for the Asian Games trials. The wrestlers had been doing body weight workout routines and dry coaching at the highway on the protest web page.
“We need to play and teach for the Asian Games. We teach right here as and after we get an opportunity. But getting justice for India’s daughters will probably be a larger medal for me than the Asian Games,” Punia mentioned to thundering applause.
Both Phogat and Punia are protecting champions on the Asian Games. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, operating for the second one day, claimed that the protest was once politically motivated.
“I will guarantee you that 90 % of Haryana wrestlers give a boost to and believe WFI. There is just one circle of relatives this is protesting. All complainants come from one akhara most effective which is Mahadev Wrestling Academy, and that’s run via Deepinder Hooda,” Singh mentioned in Gonda, UP.
Hooda is a Congress Party Rajya Sabha MP, after 3 phrases as Lok Sabha MP.
“You do not get justice at Jantar Mantar. You need to manner the police and courts. So some distance, all they did was once abuse me. It is most effective just lately that they approached the courtroom. Whatever the courtroom makes a decision will probably be applicable to me,” mentioned the BJP MP.
“Akhilesh Yadav (former UP leader minister and Samajwadi Party president) is aware of me neatly. He is aware of the reality,” Singh mentioned when requested about opposition events visiting the protesters.
Punia accused Singh of politicizing their protest.
“He needs to offer this combat a political color. The day the ones FIRs have been filed towards him, he activated his IT Cell to run a defamatory marketing campaign towards us. But justice can’t be served at the foundation of his tweets. We believe the Supreme Court to ship justice,” he mentioned.
“Brij Bhushan is claiming that we want to take over the federation. If anyone wants to hold an office in the federation, that individual has to hold an office in a state association. His family is all over various state federations and he is accusing us of trying to make WFI a family affair.”
Responding to Singh’s claims that wrestlers should not have a lot give a boost to, Phogat mentioned, “You can see the kind of support we have here. Not just Haryana, we have support from various states and across sports. People like Neeraj Chopra and Abhinav Bindra have tweeted in our favour. Nikhat Zareen and Sania Mirza are not from Haryana and have supported us.”
The apex courtroom will pay attention the subject subsequent on May 5.