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Last year was a rough one for Indian wrestling, ending with Sakshi Malik quitting the sport over the election of Sanjay Singh as president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). Now, Malik, a former Olympic bronze medalist, has spoken up about whether she can be expected to be a part of the WFI sometime in the future.
For Malik and fellow wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, 2023 started with them protesting against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh. It eventually led to the suspension of the organization.
Nearly a year after the original protests, which accused Singh of sexually harassing wrestlers, elections for the WFI finally took place in December. The election’s saw Bhushan’s close aide Sanjay Singh being voted into the post of president, prompting Sakshi Malik to announce her decision to quit wrestling.
Since then the newly elected WFI has been disbanded by the Sports Ministry, and an ad-hoc panel was appointed in its place.
Many were curious whether Malik would opt to run for an official position in the WFI given her recent retirement, and the wrestler has finally addressed the questions.
“I have been mentally and physically exhausted for the past year. So, I haven't thought about even joining (the wrestling federation), but I would request an increase in women's participation in the federation, that would be beneficial for the young wrestlers,” she told PTI.
Sakshi Malik addresses accusations of stealing opportunities from youngsters
A year without the WFI has resulted in no national camps and competitions for junior wrestlers, which has caused dissent amongst the youngsters.
In an unexpected move, hundreds of wrestlers descended upon the Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Wednesday, protesting against Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and Bajrang Punia.
They were seen holding up banners that read ‘UWW (United World Wrestling) save our wrestling from these 3 wrestlers’. The protesting athletes were from various regions in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi.
Defending herself from the allegations of stealing opportunities from the next generation of wrestlers, Sakshi Malik told PTI:
“We knew Brij Bhushan (Sharan Singh) is influential, but we had no idea he would be this powerful. Now, his propaganda is to make allegations that we have been grabbing young wrestlers' opportunities. However, now that I have retired, I want young girls to win and fulfil my dream.”
