Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia, center, speaks during a protest against Wrestling Foundation of India President Brij Bhushan Charan Singh and other officials in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. Top India wrestlers led a sit-in protest near the parliament building on Thursday accusing the federation president and coaches of sexually and mentally harassing young wrestlers.
(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
ALTAF QADRI
Thu, January 19, 2023
NEW DELHI (AP) — Top India wrestlers led a sit-in protest near the parliament building on Thursday accusing the federation president and coaches of sexually and mentally harassing young wrestlers.
Sakshee Malikkh, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia led about 100 protestors in demanding the immediate removal of Wrestling Foundation of India President Brij Bhushan Charan Singh and other officials pending an inquiry against them.
Protesters at Jantar Mantar carried placards reading "Dictatorship can't go on," "We will fight for our rights," and "Boycott the WFI president."
Singh, a lawmaker representing the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, rejected the accusations and said he was ready to face any probe.
"If there were complaints against me or some coaches, they should have come forward earlier," he said.
Some wrestlers later left to meet India Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur.
The ministry on Wednesday asked the wrestling body to answer the accusation made by the wrestlers by Friday “otherwise, the ministry will proceed to initiate action against the federation."
Phogat said she knew of at least 10-20 female wrestlers who were sexually exploited by Singh and others and she will reveal their names when she gets to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah.
Phogat won a world championships bronze medal last year. Punia won bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and Malikkh a bronze at the 2016 Olympics.
Indian wrestlers continue protest over sexual harassment
Sakshi Malik, Indian wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, second left, and Bajrang Punia, who won a Bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, left, participate with other wrestlers in a protest against Wrestling Federation of India President Brijbhushan Sharan Singh and other officials in New Delhi, India, Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. Top India wrestlers led a protest near the parliament building accusing the federation president and coaches of sexually and mentally harassing young wrestlers. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
ASHOK SHARMA
Fri, January 20, 2023
NEW DELHI (AP) — Top Indian wrestlers continued a sit-in protest near the parliament building for a third straight day Friday as the federation president they accused of sexually and mentally harassing young female athletes remained defiant and refused to quit.
The wrestlers and their nearly 200 supporters at Jantar Mantar carried placards reading “We will fight for our rights,” and “Boycott the WFI president.”
Wrestlers Sakshee Malikkh, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia are scheduled to meet Indian Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur for a second time in the past 24 hours to press their demands.
They are seeking the immediate removal of Wrestling Federation of India President Brijbhushan Sharan Singh and some other officials pending an inquiry against them.
Singh, a lawmaker representing the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, rejected the accusations and said he was ready to face any probe.
“Why should I resign?” Singh said.
Indian media reports said the protesting wrestlers have sent a letter to the Indian Olympic Association demanding its intervention.
P. T. Usha, the IOA president, in a tweet promised a complete investigation into their complaint to ensure justice.
"We also have decided to form a special committee to deal with such situations that may arise in the future, for swifter action,” she said.
Usha said she has discussed the wrestlers’ accusations against Singh and some coaches with IOA members and urged athletes to come forward and voice their concerns with the association.
The ministry earlier asked the wrestling body to answer the accusation made by the wrestlers by Friday “otherwise, the ministry will proceed to initiate action against the federation.”
Phogat said she knew of at least 10-20 female wrestlers who were sexually exploited by Singh and others and that she will reveal their names at an appropriate time.
Jagmati Sangwan, a former volleyball player and an activist, said the cases of harassment voiced by women wrestlers were merely the tip of the iceberg.
“The true shape of this particular problem has become quite gigantic,” Sangwan wrote in a newspaper column.
She added that the measures taken so far to hear the complaints of sportswomen “have been absolutely ineffective and have instilled zero confidence in women to come out and report their abuse.”
Phogat won a bronze medal at the world championships last year. Punia won bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and Malikkh a bronze at the 2016 Olympics.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
ALTAF QADRI
Thu, January 19, 2023
NEW DELHI (AP) — Top India wrestlers led a sit-in protest near the parliament building on Thursday accusing the federation president and coaches of sexually and mentally harassing young wrestlers.
Sakshee Malikkh, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia led about 100 protestors in demanding the immediate removal of Wrestling Foundation of India President Brij Bhushan Charan Singh and other officials pending an inquiry against them.
Protesters at Jantar Mantar carried placards reading "Dictatorship can't go on," "We will fight for our rights," and "Boycott the WFI president."
Singh, a lawmaker representing the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, rejected the accusations and said he was ready to face any probe.
"If there were complaints against me or some coaches, they should have come forward earlier," he said.
Some wrestlers later left to meet India Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur.
The ministry on Wednesday asked the wrestling body to answer the accusation made by the wrestlers by Friday “otherwise, the ministry will proceed to initiate action against the federation."
Phogat said she knew of at least 10-20 female wrestlers who were sexually exploited by Singh and others and she will reveal their names when she gets to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah.
Phogat won a world championships bronze medal last year. Punia won bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and Malikkh a bronze at the 2016 Olympics.
Indian wrestlers continue protest over sexual harassment
Sakshi Malik, Indian wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, second left, and Bajrang Punia, who won a Bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, left, participate with other wrestlers in a protest against Wrestling Federation of India President Brijbhushan Sharan Singh and other officials in New Delhi, India, Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. Top India wrestlers led a protest near the parliament building accusing the federation president and coaches of sexually and mentally harassing young wrestlers. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
ASHOK SHARMA
Fri, January 20, 2023
NEW DELHI (AP) — Top Indian wrestlers continued a sit-in protest near the parliament building for a third straight day Friday as the federation president they accused of sexually and mentally harassing young female athletes remained defiant and refused to quit.
The wrestlers and their nearly 200 supporters at Jantar Mantar carried placards reading “We will fight for our rights,” and “Boycott the WFI president.”
Wrestlers Sakshee Malikkh, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia are scheduled to meet Indian Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur for a second time in the past 24 hours to press their demands.
They are seeking the immediate removal of Wrestling Federation of India President Brijbhushan Sharan Singh and some other officials pending an inquiry against them.
Singh, a lawmaker representing the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, rejected the accusations and said he was ready to face any probe.
“Why should I resign?” Singh said.
Indian media reports said the protesting wrestlers have sent a letter to the Indian Olympic Association demanding its intervention.
P. T. Usha, the IOA president, in a tweet promised a complete investigation into their complaint to ensure justice.
"We also have decided to form a special committee to deal with such situations that may arise in the future, for swifter action,” she said.
Usha said she has discussed the wrestlers’ accusations against Singh and some coaches with IOA members and urged athletes to come forward and voice their concerns with the association.
The ministry earlier asked the wrestling body to answer the accusation made by the wrestlers by Friday “otherwise, the ministry will proceed to initiate action against the federation.”
Phogat said she knew of at least 10-20 female wrestlers who were sexually exploited by Singh and others and that she will reveal their names at an appropriate time.
Jagmati Sangwan, a former volleyball player and an activist, said the cases of harassment voiced by women wrestlers were merely the tip of the iceberg.
“The true shape of this particular problem has become quite gigantic,” Sangwan wrote in a newspaper column.
She added that the measures taken so far to hear the complaints of sportswomen “have been absolutely ineffective and have instilled zero confidence in women to come out and report their abuse.”
Phogat won a bronze medal at the world championships last year. Punia won bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and Malikkh a bronze at the 2016 Olympics.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
India’s top wrestlers accuse wrestling body chief of sexual harassment
Sravasti Dasgupta
Thu, January 19, 2023
India’s most decorated wrestling stars, including Olympians, are on a silent sit-in protest in the national capital alleging sexual harassment by the federation chief, a lawmaker from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as other coaches.
At least 200 wrestlers, including Olympians Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, and Commonwealth and Asian Games medalist Vinesh Phogat have been sitting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar – a common protest site – demanding action against federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Addressing the media after the protest on Wednesday, Phogat, who has won gold medals at both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, accused Mr Singh of sexually harassing several women athletes.
“Women wrestlers have been sexually harassed at national camps by coaches and also the WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan. Some of the coaches appointed at national camps have been sexually harassing women wrestlers for years. The WFI president is also involved in sexual harassment,” she said.
While she said she had not faced sexual harassment herself, she “knows of dozens of women who have come up to her with their accounts”.
“I know at least 10-20 girls in the national camp who have come and told me their stories,” she said.
Malik, who won bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympics, said: “We have just come to save them. We are fighting for them. When the time comes, we will speak up.
“We will give the names of those who have been exploited to whoever is doing the probe.”
The women wrestlers have been joined by their male colleagues, including Tokyo Olympics medalist Bajrang Punia.
“The federation’s job is to support the players, and take care of their sporting needs. If there is a problem, it has to be solved,” he said in a tweet.
Phogat also highlighted the high-handedness of the federation under Mr Singh.
“He mentally tortures me for everything. To get anything (permissions), we have to beg. The assistant secretary also. The kids are giving him gifts (cash, milk, ghee) to get their name into the national camp. Coaches too do the same to get into the national camp,” she was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“When we win medals for India everyone celebrates but after that nobody cares about how we are treated, especially by the federation,” Punia told the outlet.
Later on Wednesday, amid nationwide outrage, India’s federal sports ministry asked the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to respond to the allegations within 72 hours.
Federation president Mr Singh, however, denied the allegations against him and said that he will kill himself if they are found to be true.
“All the sexual harassment allegations are false, and I will commit suicide if they are found to be true. I tried to get in touch with the wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, but was unable to do so,” the 66-year-old BJP MP was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Mr Singh is a BJP parliamentarian from northern Uttar Pradesh state’s Kaiserganj.
He is a six-term MP, five as a BJP candidate and one as a candidate from the Samajwadi Party.
He has held the post of the wrestling federation chief since 2011.
On Thursday, Babita Phogat, a former wrestler who is now a member of the BJP, met the protesting wrestlers and promised to be their messenger to the government.
“I am a wrestler first. The BJP government is with the wrestlers. I will make sure that action is taken today itself. I am a wrestler, and I am in the government as well, so it is my responsibility to mediate,” she said.
Delhi Commission for Women, the Delhi government’s nodal body for women’s issues, has also issued a notice to the federal sports ministry to take action.
While the wrestlers resumed their protest on Thursday, later a meeting was held with the sports ministry on Thursday afternoon with the athletes presenting their grievances.
After the meeting the wrestlers said that their protests would continue demanding Mr Singh’s removal as they did not get a satisfactory response from the government.
Last June, India’s national cycling team coach RK Sharma was sacked after allegations of sexual harassment by a top woman cyclist.
Sravasti Dasgupta
Thu, January 19, 2023
India’s most decorated wrestling stars, including Olympians, are on a silent sit-in protest in the national capital alleging sexual harassment by the federation chief, a lawmaker from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as other coaches.
At least 200 wrestlers, including Olympians Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, and Commonwealth and Asian Games medalist Vinesh Phogat have been sitting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar – a common protest site – demanding action against federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Addressing the media after the protest on Wednesday, Phogat, who has won gold medals at both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, accused Mr Singh of sexually harassing several women athletes.
“Women wrestlers have been sexually harassed at national camps by coaches and also the WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan. Some of the coaches appointed at national camps have been sexually harassing women wrestlers for years. The WFI president is also involved in sexual harassment,” she said.
While she said she had not faced sexual harassment herself, she “knows of dozens of women who have come up to her with their accounts”.
“I know at least 10-20 girls in the national camp who have come and told me their stories,” she said.
Malik, who won bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympics, said: “We have just come to save them. We are fighting for them. When the time comes, we will speak up.
“We will give the names of those who have been exploited to whoever is doing the probe.”
The women wrestlers have been joined by their male colleagues, including Tokyo Olympics medalist Bajrang Punia.
“The federation’s job is to support the players, and take care of their sporting needs. If there is a problem, it has to be solved,” he said in a tweet.
Phogat also highlighted the high-handedness of the federation under Mr Singh.
“He mentally tortures me for everything. To get anything (permissions), we have to beg. The assistant secretary also. The kids are giving him gifts (cash, milk, ghee) to get their name into the national camp. Coaches too do the same to get into the national camp,” she was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“When we win medals for India everyone celebrates but after that nobody cares about how we are treated, especially by the federation,” Punia told the outlet.
Later on Wednesday, amid nationwide outrage, India’s federal sports ministry asked the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to respond to the allegations within 72 hours.
Federation president Mr Singh, however, denied the allegations against him and said that he will kill himself if they are found to be true.
“All the sexual harassment allegations are false, and I will commit suicide if they are found to be true. I tried to get in touch with the wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, but was unable to do so,” the 66-year-old BJP MP was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Mr Singh is a BJP parliamentarian from northern Uttar Pradesh state’s Kaiserganj.
He is a six-term MP, five as a BJP candidate and one as a candidate from the Samajwadi Party.
He has held the post of the wrestling federation chief since 2011.
On Thursday, Babita Phogat, a former wrestler who is now a member of the BJP, met the protesting wrestlers and promised to be their messenger to the government.
“I am a wrestler first. The BJP government is with the wrestlers. I will make sure that action is taken today itself. I am a wrestler, and I am in the government as well, so it is my responsibility to mediate,” she said.
Delhi Commission for Women, the Delhi government’s nodal body for women’s issues, has also issued a notice to the federal sports ministry to take action.
While the wrestlers resumed their protest on Thursday, later a meeting was held with the sports ministry on Thursday afternoon with the athletes presenting their grievances.
After the meeting the wrestlers said that their protests would continue demanding Mr Singh’s removal as they did not get a satisfactory response from the government.
Last June, India’s national cycling team coach RK Sharma was sacked after allegations of sexual harassment by a top woman cyclist.
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