New Delhi, India

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat will return her prestigious Arjuna Award and Khel Ranta Award in a mark of protest against the now-suspended Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) body. This follows after veteran wrestler Bajrang Punia on Friday (Dec 22) had decided to abandon his Padma Shri Award on a footpath near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence. Unlike Bajrang, Vinesh penned an emotional letter to the Indian PM seeking his attention to the matter.

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Vinesh pens note

“Sakshi Malik has quit wrestling, and Bajrang Punia has returned his Padma Shri. The entire country knows the reasons why athletes who won Olympic medals for the country had to take such steps, and being the leader of the nation, you must also be aware of this matter. Prime Minister, I am Vinesh Phogat, a daughter of your country, and I'm writing this letter to tell you about the condition I've been in for the past year,” Vinesh wrote in Hindi with a port on her X handle.

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Punia returns Padma Shri

On Friday evening, Punia with his aides turned to the footpath near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence where he was seen abandoning his Padma Shri. He was seen with an emotional touch while rejecting a request from the authorities to take back the award. However, he rejected the request and abandoned the award by keeping it on the footpath. He was also seen joining his hands in request to allow him to leave the area while refusing to take back his honour.

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What was the case?

The new WFI chief, Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former President Brij Bhushan Singh, saw off competition from Anita Sheoran to win the top post on Thursday. In protest, Bajranj decided to return his Padma Shri honour as he did not support newly elected member Sanjay Singh. On Friday, he tweeted about returning the honour in a mark of protest against the new panel.

With the vote counting taking place immediately in the aftermath of the elections on Thursday, Sanjay Singh gained 40 votes out of 47 to succeed his close friend Brij Bhushan.

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 epicentre. 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). Protesters even protested in New Delhi during the inauguration of the new parliament building of India on May 28.