BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has claimed that he had nothing to do with Sakshi Malik's decision to quit wrestling after Sanjay Singh was elected as the WFI president.
Voting took place earlier on Thursday following a lengthy legal tussle as the WFI remains suspended by the international federation United World Wrestling (UWW).
Sanjay Singh to take over as WFI president
Sanjay Singh defeated Anita Sheoran in the WFI elections to take over the top job after Brij Bhushan was sacked from the post following allegations of sexual and mental harassment by several top Indian wrestlers.
Sanjay Singh is a close associate of Brij Bhushan and served as the UP Wrestling Federation vice-president before contesting the WFI elections.
Wrestlers left crying for help again
The election results dealt a serious blow on the likes of Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, who had initiated a massive protest at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi earlier this year against Brij Bhushan.
Punia and Malik had recently met sports minister Anurag Thakur seeking ways to prevent Brij Bhushan's aide from contesting for president but to no avail.
I quit wrestling: Sakshi Malik
Malik therefore, made the shocking announcement that she is quitting wrestling.
"We slept on the roads for 40 days, and people from various parts of the country came to support us. If Brij Bhushan Singh's business partner and close aide assume the WFI presidency, I quit wrestling," Malik told reporters during a press conference in Delhi.
Reacting to this, Brij Bhushan said "I had nothing to do with this."
Big win for Brij Bhushan camp
The Brij Bhushan camp, led by Singh, triumphed in 13 out of the 15 posts, including a clean sweep of all four Vice President positions.
The elected Vice Presidents are Jai Prakash from Delhi (37 votes), Asit Kumar Saha from West Bengal (42 votes), Kartar Singh from Punjab (44 votes), and N Phoni from Manipur (38 votes).
