‘Our Fight Was Not With Govt’, Says Sakshi Malik After Sports Ministry Suspends Newly-Elected WFI Body
New Delhi: 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik welcomed the Union Sports Ministry’s decision to suspend the newly-elected Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) body led by Sanjay Singh on Sunday. In a press statement, the Sports Ministry cited WFI flouted WFI rules and regulations in announcing the U-15 and U-20 nationals “without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers” for preparations.
The ministry also said the new body was working under the “complete control of former (WFI) office-bearers”, which was not in conformity with the National Sports Code. The WFI elections were held on December 21 with former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s loyalist, Sanjay Singh, and his panel winning the polls by big margins.
Welcoming the decision, Malik, one of the protesting wrestlers stated, “This has happened for the betterment of the wrestlers. We had been saying that this was the fight of the daughters and sisters. This is the first step….”
Top wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Malik, had been at the forefront of the protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is being accused of sexual harassment of female wrestlers, the case of which is being heard in the Delhi High Court.
#WATCH | Delhi: On suspension of the newly elected body of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) by Union Sports Ministry, Wrestler Sakshee Malikkh says, “This has happened for the betterment of the wrestlers. We had been saying that this was the fight of the daughters and sisters.… pic.twitter.com/MU3LLh0x21
— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2023
Soon after the charges against him, Brij Bhushan resigned from his post as WFI president. The WFI elections were held on December 21 with former president Brij Bhushan Sharan’s loyalist, Sanjay Singh, and his panel winning the polls by big margins.
However, Sanjay’s appointment as the WFI chief didn’t go well with the wrestlers. While Malik quit the sport in protest, Bajrang, who won an Olympic bronze in Tokyo in 2021, returned his Padma Shri to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
#WATCH | After the Union Sports Ministry suspends the newly elected body of the Wrestling Federation of India, former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh says, “The elections were held in a democratic way on the direction of the Supreme Court and the body was formed…Now it’s… pic.twitter.com/gTJDgptO8R
— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2023
Meanwhile, Brij Bhushan Sharan held a press conference on Sunday and stated the elections were held democratically. “The elections were held in a democratic way on the direction of the Supreme Court and the body was formed…Now it’s their (federation members) decision if they wish to talk to the government or take the legal course of action. I have nothing to do with this,” he said in a press conference on Sunday.