Renowned Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik says that she stands by her decision to retire from the professional sport, stating that she refuses to be part of it if men like Brij Bhushan Singh are in the federation. Malik admitted that the decision was tough to arrive at, but suggested she was left with no other choice.
A teary-eyed Malik, who spearheaded the protests against former chief of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), stepped down from professional wrestling, hours after Brij Bhushan Singh's close aide Sanjay Singh emerged as the new one on December 21st. Sanjay Singh won 40 out of 47 votes to beat former Commonwealth Gold Medalist Anita Sheoran in the election held on December 21st.
The 27-year-old admitted that wrestling has given her a lot, but the administration made her quit it.
"It's a sad moment for me because I decided to quit wrestling only yesterday. The sport that gave us so much, I won medals with the support of the people of this county, I am here today because of wrestling, but I chose to quit it. I took this decision after a lot of thought. I stick to my decision of not wrestling again, if people like Brij Bhushan are part of the federation," Malik told India Today.
Few wrestlers have been falsely accused of doping" - Sakshi Malik
Malik further underlined that having a woman as the WFI chief would have had a lot many female wrestlers coming forward to fight for their justice.
"The moment Brij Bhushan's business partner won the elections, I can't give the guarantee that even one of the women wrestlers would get justice. They have regained the power. They will threaten the ones who came forward to give the case, there are a few wrestlers who have been falsely accused of doping. If a woman had become president, I assure you many more wrestlers would have come forward."
