'I quit wrestling': Sakshi Malik says she won't compete under presidency of Brij Bhushan loyalist

NEW DELHI: In the aftermath of Sanjay Singh becoming the new president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), wrestler Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from the sport, saying she won't compete under the presidency of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist.

"We slept for 40 days on the roads and a lot of people from several parts of the country came to support us. If Brij Bhushan Singh's business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling...," she said while addressing the media.


"We have made demands for a woman president. If the president would be a woman, harassment would not happen. But, there was no participation of women earlier and today you can see the list, not even a single woman was given a position. We had fought with complete strength but this fight will continue. The wrestlers of the new generation have to fight," she added.

Sakshi removed her shoes and put it on the dais before leaving the press conference in tears.


In the lead-up to the elections, Olympic medal-winning wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi had consistently urged Sports Minister Anurag Thakur to prevent individuals associated with Brij Bhushan from participating in the WFI polls.

As a result, Brij Bhushan's son Prateek and son-in-law Vishal Singh opted not to enter the contest.

Bajrang and Vinesh Phogat, who addressed media after elections, did not say whether they will retire from the sport.


"It's unfortunate that government did not stand by its word that no Brij Bhushan loyalist will contest WFI election," Bajrang said.

"Upcoming women wrestlers will also face exploitation," Vinesh added.

RSS-affiliate Sanjay hails from Varanasi and is a very close associate of Brij Bhushan. Given the tremendous interest the outgoing chief has in the sport, it is expected that Sanjay will consult him in policy decisions.

The wrestlers had levelled accusations of sexual harassment against Brij Bhushan, targeting women wrestlers, including juniors. They successfully garnered substantial support from various segments of society.

However, the protest lost momentum on May 28, the day they intended to march towards the new Parliament building, as Delhi Police intervened and removed all the protesters from Jantar Mantar, citing incidents of rioting.

02:11

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