Top Indian wrestlers have written a letter to Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha demanding the resignation of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment by female grapplers.
The list of complaints
# In the letter, the wrestlers claimed that several young grapplers have made complaints against WFI chief.
# Another allegation that was leveled was the misappropriation of funds on the part of WFI. Contract payments were agreed with some of the senior wrestlers in the last few years through sponsorship received from TATA Motors. These payments were only partly made by WFI.
# Vinesh Phogat was mentally harassed and tortured by the WFI president after she missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo. She almost contemplated suicide.
# The coaches and Sports Science staff that WFI president puts in the National camp are absolutely incompetent and not on merit. They are just his informants and they create a very bad atmosphere in the national camp.
The list of demands
# The Indian Olympic Association to immediately appoint a committee to enquire into the complaints of sexual harassment.
# Resignation of WFI president and disolution of the WFI
dissolutionmmittee should be formed to run the affairs of the WFI in consultation with the wrestler.
Earlier, wrestlers' meeting with Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur remained inconclusive on Thursday night as they refused to back down from their demand that the government immediately disband the Wrestling Federation of India. The marathon meeting began around 10 pm on Thursday, the second day of the wrestlers' protest against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The wrestlers left Thakur's house at 1:45 am and did not speak to the reporters waiting outside.
Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya, Sakshi Malik and world championship medallist Vinesh Phogat were part of the meeting. Thakur flew to Delhi from Himachal Pradesh after an earlier meeting between government officials and the protesting wrestlers remained inconclusive. The wrestlers will meet the Sports minister again on Friday, according to government officials.
