Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia to return Padma Shri in protest of WFI election results
Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia to return Padma Shri in protest of WFI election results
Olympic bronze medalist Bajrang Punia is set to return his Padma Shri award after the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections on Thursday (Dec 21). The decision was announced by the Indian grappler on Friday, a day after the elections to protest against new President Sanjay Singh. The new WFI chief is a close aide of former President Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan and saw off competition from Anita Sheoran to win the top post. On Thursday, Sakshi Malik also showed her discontent against the newly elected panel and decided to call time on her illustrious career.
Bajrang to return Padma Shri
"Dear PM Ji, hope your health is well. You must be busy in many work but I am writing this to draw your attention to the wrestlers of the country. You must be aware that the women wrestlers of the country started a protest in January this year against Brish Bhushan Singh accusing him of sexual harassment. I too joined their protest. The protest stopped after the government promised strong action," Punia wrote in Hindi on his social media account.
On Thursday, the WFI elections saga finally came to an end as Sanjay Singh got the better of Anita Sheoran. The news was a major development in Sakshi signing off from wrestling as she opposed the succession of Brij Bhushan Singh's aide. With the vote counting taking place immediately in the aftermath of the elections, Sanjay Singh gained 40 votes out of 47 to succeed his close friend and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Brij Bhushan.
With a new president, the ban imposed by the United World Wrestling (UWW) could now be lifted with much relief to Indian sports. Wrestlers were earlier banned from competing under India’s flag in wrestling due to the ban imposed by the UWW on WFI.
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Year of chaos for WFI
The protests had begun in January 2023 by top wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and others in the epicenter. The cluster of top wrestlers wanted then-President Brij Bhushan to be thrown out of power for sexual harassment charges against him. The protests were first held at the iconic Jantar Mantar in New Delhi while the attention then switched to the holy city of Haridwar (210 km North of New Delhi). Protestors even protested in New Delhi during the inauguration of the new parliament building of India on May 28.
