On Sunday, wrestlers said that the match against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will take battle to court rather than on the streets.
The wrestlers in protest vowed to challenge Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in court, not on the streets.
Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Bajrang Punia stated in parallel tweets that the government had kept its promise to charge Singh.
The statement on Twitter stated that the wrestlers “will continue until we get justice, but it (the fight) will be in court and not on the road.”
“As promised, the election process has started in regards to the WFI reform. We’ll watch for the government to keep its promises regarding the elections on July 11th. The wrestlers posted that they will be taking a short sabbatical from social media.
Vinesh Phogat posted a picture of a letter she claimed had been sent to the sports ministry on Saturday, following accusations made by former wrestler and current BJP leader Yogeshwar Dutt that the wrestlers who had sat in protest against the WFI chief had asked for an exemption from trials prior to the Asian Games.
According to the letter’s contents, the wrestlers had been opposing the WFI chief and wanted more time to train for the trials before the Asian Games and the World Championships.
The protesting wrestlers Bajrang Punia (65 kg), Sakshi Malik (62 kg), her husband Satyawart Kadian (97 kg), Sangeeta Phogat (57 kg), Jitender Kumar (86 kg), and Vinesh (53 kg) themselves asked for time to train for the trials.
The letter, which was signed by all six of the athletes named, continued, “Therefore, it is a request to you that trials for these wrestlers be held after August 10, 2023.”
Vinesh posted the letter to twitter along with the following statement: “The protesting wrestlers had just sought to postpone the date of the trials since we did not receive enough time for practise due to our participation in the protests over the last six months.
“We share this message with you because we recognize that this is a serious issue. We must allow the enemy to succeed in severing the wrestlers’ bond, Vinesh continued. Additionally, Vinesh said that Dutt was pursuing them out of self-interest. “Wrestlers were terrified to come to the second protest (on April 23) because of you (Dutt). You threaten them with losing their employment if they don’t comply. People claimed to be with us but couldn’t arrive because of compulsions.
“I will tell you why you are doing this. Brij Bhushan might have offered you the post of WFI President and that’s why you have sided with him.” After being removed from Jantar Mantar on May 28, the wrestlers had suspended their protest till June 15 after getting assurance from Sports Minister Anurag Thakur that a charge sheet will be filed against Singh by then and none of his family members will be allowed to contest WFI elections.
You might have voted with Brij Bhushan because he offered you the position of WFI President. The wrestlers had suspended their protest after being evicted from Jantar Mantar on May 28 until June 15 after receiving assurances from Sports Minister Anurag Thakur that a charge sheet would be filed against Singh by then and that none of his family members would be permitted to run in WFI elections.
