Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra was among the few active sportspersons who again spoke out in support of the wrestlers after they were dragged away from their protest site by police in New Delhi on Sunday.

Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia were detained along with their supporters when they tried to march to the new Parliament building as it was being inaugurated, with Delhi police clearing their protest site at Jantar Mantar and saying they will not be allowed to continue their sit-in.

The women detainees were released later in the evening. The decorated wrestlers, who had resumed their agitation against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh on April 23 demanding his arrest for alleged sexual harassment of several women grapplers, had called for a women’s ‘Mahapanchayat’ for which they did not have permission.

As expected, most of the active Indian sportspersons — including the cricketers — remained silent over Sunday’s incident.

Chopra, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist and the world’s No. 1-ranked javelin thrower, was one of those rare athletes who voiced his displeasure. “I am sad watching this (video). There has to be a better way to deal with this,” he tweeted on a video of the scuffle between the protesters and the police.

Last month, Chopra, along with Olympic gold-winning shooter Abhinav Bindra, was one of the first to lend support to the Vineshes and the Sakshis.

Late in the night, India football captain Sunil Chhetri took to Twitter to rally around the protesters. “Why does it have to come down to our wrestlers being dragged around without any consideration? This isn’t the way to treat anyone. I really hope this whole situation is assessed the way it should be,” he tweeted.

Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan was also supportive of the protest.

“It’s barbaric,” former India footballer CK Vineeth told The Telegraph from Kochi on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a shame that athletes who earn medals for the country are being dragged on the street,” Vineeth, who has been known as a sportsperson with a spine, said. “Why should not I be? I am not scared of anyone. Some days back in Kerala there were rallies in support of the wrestlers and I was a participant,” he said.

“For the last 36 days, these wrestlers have been on the streets and the government does not care about it. Our honourable Prime Minister can give his opinion on an agenda-driven movie but not a single word on the Olympic medal winners being treated shabbily?”

His strong words resonated with many but other sportspersons, current and former, chose to speak under cover of anonymity.

“You know it’s not easy to take on the Establishment. They will get back at you. The national federations, Sports Authority of India, the ministry... everyone will wait for a chance to pounce on you. So I don’t want to come on record,” a veteran Olympian said.

“But the images I saw today were shameful. This is not what athletes who bring laurels to the country deserve. As a woman I feel disgusting,” the sportsperson, who has represented India in multiple international tournaments, said. “Some officials can stoop so low you have no idea. I have seen this happening for the last 25 years,” she added.

However, she also suggested that the wrestlers’ movement got a political colour which affected it.

“These things (police action) will happen when political parties get involved. Initially (when the wrestlers had hit the streets in January), most of us were feeling for them. But soon we realised that this protest has been hijacked by the parties opposed to the ruling dispensation.

“My point is when the federation has been disbanded and an ad hoc committee formed by the Indian Olympic Association is in place, why are the wrestlers continuing with this?” the Olympian, who is part of the sports ecosystem in the country, argued.

“If you ask me they have deviated from the original plan and now look utterly confused,” she added. Vineeth though doesn’t buy the idea. “These are serious allegations and the person (WFI chief Brijbhushan Singh), howsoever powerful he may be, should be in jail,” Sunil Chhetri’s former teammate said.