Wrestlers protest against Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar

Tables have turned upside-down in a span of 12 months as the wrestler’s protest took a 360-degree turn on Wednesday (Jan 3). Twelve months on from the start of the wrestler's protest in India’s capital New Delhi, junior wrestlers have taken a stand against the trio of Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat. The junior wrestlers protested against the trio for hampering the organisation of junior-level wrestling programmes and thereby hampering their growth.

Junior wrestlers protest against ‘Big Three’

With the majority of wrestling activity suspended in 12 months due to the ongoing conflict between the wrestlers and the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), junior wrestlers had to suffer due to lack of game time and practice sessions ahead of the Olympics and World Championships. Wrestlers were seen with banners that showcased the anti-trio stand and demanded theybe axed. Few banners even appealed to United World Wrestling (UWW) to take action against the trio of Punia, Malik and Phogat.

The trio along with several other wrestlers started the protest against then-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan in January 2023. The protest led to the formation of several committees from the Sports Ministry of India and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The protesters alleged that Brij Bhushan, a sitting Member of Parliament of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)sexually assaulted several female wrestlers. However, upon probe, those allegations were not proved while Singh’s close aide Sanjay Singh was elected as the new president of the WFI in December 2023.

The elections were initially delayed and even saw the WFI get suspended by the UWW which saw its wrestlers unable to compete under India’s flag in several events. On the other hand, local and state-level competitions funded by the WFI were also suspended due to the suspension of the then-Brij Bhushan-led body. This hampered the growth of several wrestlers both at national and international level.

Currently, the WFI’s newly appointed body also remains suspended with an ad-hoc panel running the operations.