WFI chief blames wrestlers' protests for India's poor Olympics performance
Sanjay Singh, the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), has attributed India's disappointing performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics to the wrestlers' protests against his aide, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. He stated that these demonstrations, which lasted for nearly a year, disrupted the wrestling community and hindered the athletes' preparations for the games. India managed to win only six medals at the recently concluded games—five bronzes and one silver.
'Wrestlers struggled without national, international tournaments'
"India won six medals in Paris, those six could have been in wrestling alone if it was not for the protests in the last 15-16 months. This is the reason India failed to secure more medals in wrestling," he said. "Let alone one category, the wrestlers in other categories struggled as they could not practice without national and international tournaments. Hence, the wrestlers could not perform well," Singh told India Today.
Protests against former WFI chief led to disruptions
The protests against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan began in January 2023 after at least six wrestlers accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader of sexual harassment. Several wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and Sakshi Malik, were part of the protests. Malik, India's only female Olympic medalist in wrestling, retired after Singh replaced Brij Bhushan. This year in January, hundreds of junior wrestlers protested against these top wrestlers, expressing their discontent over losing a crucial year in their careers.
Only 1 Indian wrestler secured a medal
For the Paris Olympics, India sent a six-member wrestling team, but only Aman Sehrawat managed to secure a medal by winning bronze in the men's 57kg category. The rest of the team, including, Anshu Malik (57kg), Reetika Hooda (76kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg) and Antim Panghal (53kg), failed to make a significant impact. The fate of Phogat has yet to be decided, as it is still not known if she will win a medal.
Vinesh Phogat's Olympic participation marred by controversy
Phogat had became the first Indian woman to qualify for an Olympic wrestling final, but she was disqualified after being found to be 100 grams over the limit at the weigh-ins. She has since retired from wrestling and appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for her silver medal to be retained.
WFI hopeful for favorable CAS verdict on Phogat's appeal
"We are hopeful that the CAS verdict will be in our favor...WFI wants the verdict to be in India's favor because it is the country's medal, not someone's personal medal," Singh told ANI. The CAS has postponed its decision on Phogat's appeal to August 16. The verdict was initially scheduled for August 13, but the CAS ad hoc division president allowed an extension until August 16, according to a statement from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
