United World Wrestling (UWW), the international wrestling body on Tuesday condemned the situation concerning protesting Indian wrestlers and the treatment meted out to them which included their detention after a scuffle with the Delhi Police on May 28. In a statement, the wrestling body said that the events of these “last days are even more worrying that the wrestlers were arrested and temporarily detained by the police for initiating a march of protest.”
The UWW expressed its disappointment over the “lack of results” of the investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and urged the authorities to carry out a thorough and impartial probe into the allegations.
The international wrestling body said that it will also hold a meeting with the wrestlers to inquire about their condition and safety and “reconfirm our support for a fair and just resolution of their concerns.”
The statement from UWW read, “The 45-day deadline that was initially set to hold this elective assembly shall be respected. Failing to do so may lead UWW to suspend the federation, thereby forcing the athletes to compete under a neutral flag. It is reminded that UWW already took a measure in this situation by reallocating the Asian Championship planned in New Delhi earlier this year.”
It may be noted that last month, the president of UWW, Nenad Lalovic had written to the WFI to demand clarity on who is running the sport in the country and also marked a copy to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha and International Olympic Committee (IOC) official J Poivey. The WFI had complained of “government interference” in their matters, it its reply.
On Tuesday, the aggrieved wrestlers, having faced the brunt of the police, had resorted to throw away their hard earned medals into the Ganga River to mark their protest against sexual harassment. However, they stepped back after farmer leader Naresh Tikait reached Haridwar, where the protesting wrestlers had gathered, and intervened and persuaded them to not go ahead.
At the forefront of the protests are female wrestlers Sakshi Malik, who is an Olympic medalist and Vinesh Phogat, who is a world championships medalist. Alongside them is Olympic medal winning wrestler Bajrang Punia.
They had reached Haridwar on Tuesday evening and huddled around on the banks of the Ganga River tearfully as they clutched their prized possessions before immersing them with a crowd also gathered around to witness it. However, their minds were changed after a timely intervention by Naresh Tikait reached the site and took their medals, asking them to give the government five days to respond before going ahead.
