A tearful Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik on Thursday said she was quitting wrestling in protest after a "loyalist" of BJP parliamentarian Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh won the election for Wrestling Federation of India president.
Several top men and women wrestlers had protested at Jantar Mantar for weeks earlier this year against Brij Bhushan, then WFI chief, accusing him of sexually harassing women wrestlers.
Sanjay Singh was elected WFI president with his panel winning 13 of the 15 posts in Thursday's elections.
Addressing a news conference in Delhi, an emotional Sakshi put her shoes on the table and made the dramatic announcement before walking out in tears.
“We fought this battle from our heart. In the end, we slept for 40 days on the roads but I would like to thank the people of our country who came to support us during the protests earlier this year,” Sakshi, 31, said.
“But if a person like Brij Bhushan, his business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling. We wanted a female president but that did not happen.”
Olympic medallist male wrestler Bajrang Punia told the news conference that the government had gone back on its word that “no Brij Bhushan loyalist would contest the WFI polls”.
Sakshi and Punia had repeatedly requested sports minister Anurag Thakur to not let anyone associated with Brij Bhushan contest the WFI elections.
“It is unfortunate that the government did not stand by its word that no Brij Bhushan loyalist would contest the WFI polls,” Punia said.
Women’s World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat too was at the news conference. Phogat and Punia had participated in the Jantar Mantar protest.
The FIRs that a Supreme Court directive had forced Delhi police to register against Brij Bhushan accused him of demanding “sexual favours” in exchange for professional assistance.
Six adult women wrestlers have brought sexual harassment charges against Brij Bhushan, alleging multiple instances of inappropriate touching such as running hands over breasts and touching the navel, as well as intimidation and stalking.
On May 28, Delhi police — who report to the Union home ministry — had roughed up the country’s top wrestlers and dragged them away from their Jantar Mantar protest site while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inaugurating the new Parliament building.
