New Delhi: The protesting wrestlers have said that the fight against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will be fought in the court and not on roads.
In identical tweets, wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia said the government has fulfilled its promise of filing a chargesheet against Singh.
“In this case, the wresters’ will continue till we get justice but it (fight) will be in court and not on road,” the statement on Twitter read.
“Regarding the reform in WFI, the election process, as promised, has begun. We will wait for the fulfilment of promises made by the government regarding the July 11 elections.” The wrestlers also tweeted that they are taking a break from social media for a few days.
On Saturday, after accusation from former wrestler and now BJP leader Yogeshwar Dutt that the wrestlers who sat on protest against the WFI chief had demanded an exemption from trials ahead of the Asian Games, Vinesh Phogat had put out a picture of a letter that she said had been sent to the sports ministry.
The contents of the letter stated that the wrestlers were asking for time to prepare for the trials ahead of the Asian Games as well as the World Championships, as they had been protesting against the WFI chief.
The undated letter, addressed to sports minister Anurag Thakur, reads, “It is requested to you that due to their participation in the wrestlers’ protest, the below mentioned wrestlers need some additional time to prepare for the trials for the Asian Games and the World Championships.”
The request to be awarded time to train for the trials was made for protesting wrestlers Bajrang Punia (65kg), Sakshi Malik (62kg), her husband Satyawart Kadian (97kg), Sangeeta Phogat (57kg), Jitender Kumar (86kg) and Vinesh (53kg) herself.
“Hence it is a request to you that trials must be held for these wrestlers after August 10, 2023,” the letter, signed by all six wrestlers mentioned, added.
Along with sharing the letter, Vinesh wrote on her Twitter page, “The protesting wrestlers had only requested to postpone the date of the trials, since due to our participation in the protests for the last six months, we did not get enough time for practice.
“We understand that this is a serious matter, which is why we are sharing this letter with you. The enemy is trying to break the unity among the wrestlers, we cannot let them have success,” Vinesh added.
Vinesh also alleged that Dutt was targeting them because of his self interest.
“You (Dutt) had scared wrestlers that’s why they did not come in the second protest (from April 23). You put pressure on them that they will lose their jobs. People told us that they were with us but they have compulsions that they can’t come,” Vinesh.
“I will tell you why you are doing this. Brij Bhushan might have offered you the post of WFI President and that’s why you have sided with him.” After being removed from Jantar Mantar on May 28, the wrestlers had suspended their protest till June 15 after getting assurance from Sports Minister Anurag Thakur that a chargesheet will be filed against Singh by then and none of his family members will be allowed to contest WFI elections.
Agencies

KR Desk