Wrestlers' protest: "Will take protest at international level," says Vinesh Phogat
May 15, 2023
New Delhi [India], May 15 : Indian ace grappler Vinesh Phogat on Monday said that wrestlers would write to international Olympians seeking their support in the ongoing protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Singh.
Wrestlers have been protesting at Jantar Mantar for over 20 days demanding the arrest of WFI president Singh and his sacking from the post in the light of allegations of sexual harassment by the wrestlers.
"We will take this protest at the international level. We will write letters to international Olympians and ask them to write letters in our support," Vinesh said to mediapersons here.
Rio Olympic medal winner Sakshi Malik also stressed this point and said that she feels their protest is being confined to Jantar Mantar.
"We will step outside of Jantar Mantar. We feel that our protest is being confined. We want our protest to reach everybody because this is a fight for the women of our country," Sakshi Malik told the media.
In a first step to bring the protest outside the Jantar Mantar, they "will go to Connaught Place," today, Vinesh added.
On May 7, Vinesh stated that if their demands (to arrest Brijbhushan Sharan Singh) are not met then "we will have to take a big call."
In Monday's press conference, she once again emphasized that the wrestlers wil take a 'big call' on May 21 if a decision is not taken before the decided date.
"We are in contact with different organizations in Delhi. We can take a big call on the 21st if a decision is not taken," Vinesh concluded.
On Sunday, the ad hoc committee formed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) took the matter into its own hand as, all the day-to-day functioning of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is being performed by the committee until the WFI elections, according to the sources.
As of now, the federation has not been disbanded, it continues to exist, even if it doesn't have any executive powers in the present scenario. Because of the ongoing case against the WFI chief, the elections have been put on hold.
