Wrestlers Protest: Bajrang Punia & Co. prioritise 'justice for daughters' over Asian Games

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As the second Wrestlers' Protest on Sunday completed a week on Sunday, Bajrang Punia told the media during the press conference that the wrestlers have prioritised 'justice for the daughters' ahead of the Asian Games later this year.

Punia, and other elite wrestlers in Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, have been holding a peaceful protest against the Wrestling Federation of India's strongman Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexual harassment against women wrestlers while holding the post of the body's president for over a decade.

"We want to play, it's not as if we don't want to go to the Asian Games," Punia told a press conference. "But I believe that gaining justice for the daughters of this country is far more important than an Asian medal."

The sit-in, which began last Sunday, started at a time when we are months away from Asian Games -- slated in Chinese city Hangzhou in September-October. Several of the elite athletes are out of the country for foreign national camps, including the likes of Neeraj Chopra, Eldhose Paul among others.

The WFI is currently suspended due to the ongoing protest, which led to an FIR being filed against Brijbhusan and federation's former assistant secretary Vinod Tomar. Sports Ministry earlier directed Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form a Committee and run day-to-day activity for 45 days, during which period they will oversee the elections as well.
The wrestlers also urged the media not to give Singh a platform to speak till he is cleared by the courts.

"The media is supporting Brij Bhushan more than the players. You see his criminal records. Does any player sitting here or players from other sports have a criminal record?" Punia told reporters.

"The players win medals for the country, and he is questioning the medal winners. How many people become MPs in this country, and how many people win Olympic medals. To date, there are hardly 40 Olympic medallists, and thousands have become MPs," he said.

Double World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat said Singh's charge that they are involved in politics is baseless.

"We are not involved in any politics. We speak straight from the heart and it connects, and that is why so many people are sitting here in our support. I ask how can you give such a criminal a platform?

Ask yourself.... That man is still saying things with a smile on his face. His ego is bigger than the Ravana (in epic Ramayana)," she said "If he comes out clean in Supreme Courts order, you guys can garland him.... He has exploited women athletes, and he is being felicitated. I request that you do not give him that platform," she said.

With inputs from PTI