Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia write to UWW over revoking of WFI suspension, claim wrestlers are under threat

The big wrestling duo of Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik officially wrote an open letter to the United World Wrestling (international wrestling body) on Thursday (Feb 15) after it decided to revoke the suspension on the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). UWW on Tuesday lifted the suspension on WFI which now clears Indian wrestlers to compete at international tournaments. However, both Bajrang and Sakshi have claimed that wrestlers will be under threat again and the UWW should rethink lifting the suspension.

Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik write open letter

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"This decision has again put Indian wrestlers under threat and harassment by WFI members. This is to bring to your notice that this WFI was suspended by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYAS) dated 27 December 2023 due to serious anomalies after a couple of days of taking charge," Bajrang and Vinesh wrote in their open letter.

"MYAS also formed an Ad Hoc Committee to oversee and conduct wrestling activities. Even after this suspension, WFI members took blatant decisions to conduct sporting activities without any recognition from sports ministries under the same leadership. Wrestlers all over India have lost trust and belief in the functioning of the Wrestling Federation of India. Because of this MYAS took diligent steps and issued a circular dated 7th January 2024," the letter read.

"Even after this, they have publicly issued statements against wrestlers and Ad Hoc Committee. This elected body is still being run by same individual and their allies who serious charges against them and MYAS also took the same in consideration while suspending the body. For your reference we have attached the mentioned letters,Bajrang and Vinesh further wrote.

The letter went on to read, "We wrestlers request you kindly support Indian athletes against unfair practices and harassment through various means. Indian wrestlers are looking up to you for justice and their rights to fair and safe play.

"We are hopeful that you will consider our request to support clean and fair sports activities in India and take necessary actions against the WFI," it added.

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The lifting of ban on the WFI now allows Indian wrestlers to compete under Indian flag while it was not the case previously. After an entire year of protest, the WFI elections were held in Decemberafter Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former chief Brij Bhushan Singh was elected as the new president. Sanjay Singh got the better of AnitaSheoran in a one-sided win; however, the election was upheld by the Sports Ministry of India.

With political inference on the rise, the ban imposed by UWW continued in the new year after the Sports Ministry was still monitoring the situation. UWW states that there should be no political interference in the administration of the WFI, which prolonged the lifting of the ban.

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). Protests were also heldin New Delhi during the inauguration of the new parliament building of India on May 28.