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The tussle between top Indian wrestlers and the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) seems a ceaseless affair after former wrestler Sakshi Malik's stern warning to resume protests.
This happened after the United World Wrestling, the global governing body of the sport, revoked the provisional suspension of WFI on Tuesday, February 13.
In August 2023, the UWW suspended India's national sports federation (wrestling) for its failure to conduct elections within the stipulated timeline. Sakshi Malik, who has been one of the faces of wrestlers' protest, claimed that WFI used unethical methods to get their suspension lifted.
“We came to know yesterday that Sanjay Singh had done some setting with UWW to get the suspension lifted. Brij Bhushan and Sanjay Singh have left no stone unturned to show that they are above the law,” Sakshi said in a video uploaded on platform X.
"Will not tolerate Brij Bhushan or his people running the federation" - Sakshi Malik
On December 21, 2023, Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from the sport as a matter of protest against Sanjay Singh’s victory in the WFI presidential elections.
The 31-year-old said that she won’t tolerate if any member from Brij Bhushan Singh’s faction continues to run the federation, especially after the wrestler’s core allegations of sexual harassment by the ex-WFI chief. A chargesheet was also filed by Delhi Police for the same.
“Our protest has only been suspended. I might have retired from wrestling but I will not tolerate Brij Bhushan or his people running the federation and harassing women,” Malik said.
“In the next 2-4 days, we will contact the people associated with our agitation and chalk out the future course of action. I urge the government (to ensure) that Brij Bhushan or his group are barred forever from (running) the federation and some good people are entrusted the task to do the job. Otherwise, we will have to restart the path of protest,” she added.
The Sports Ministry suspended the WFI for announcing the dates of nationals in an unethical manner. The action took place just three days after the WFI elections were announced in New Delhi.
