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‘Dabdabba Rahega’: Brij Bhushan shows off after assistant chosen as new WFI chief

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Former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh boasted that ‘(his) dominance will continue’ after his close aide Sanjay Singh was elected as the new head of the federation on Thursday.

: BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, with newly appointed WFI president Sanjay Singh, display victory signs at his residence in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI photo

New Delhi: “Dabdabaa tha, Dabdabba rahega” (domination was there, dominance will remain!), BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh emphatically boasted after his close aide Sanjay Singh was elected as the new president of the WFI on Thursday.

“This is not my personal victory, this is the victory of the wrestlers of the country. All wrestling activities were halted for 11 months. I hope that after the formation of the new federation, the wrestling events that were suspended for the past eleven months will resume,” Brij Bhushan, who was forced to resign as WFI president after being accused of sexual harassment by wrestlers, told the media.

‘Dabdabaa rahega’

“A message has been given. Every akhaada in the country bursts with fireworks. Dabdabaa tha, dabdabaa rahega!. I want to give the honor of victory to the country’s wrestlers and the voters. I would also like to thank the government,” he said.

“The elections were held on the orders of the Supreme Court and the Center had filed the PIL for the same. Elections were held by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Center ensured that elections were held and an impartial person was elected as President. This ‘grahan’ of 11 months of struggle is over. In ten days, the landscape of wrestling will change again and we will perform at the Olympics the way people want,” the former WFI president added.

Sakshi Malik quits in protest

Meanwhile, following the announcement of Sanjay Singh as the new WFI president, Olympian Sakshi Malik quit in protest. With tears in her eyes, Rio Olympic bronze medalist Sakshi Malik put her wrestling boots on the table and announced her retirement from the sport as a mark of protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Singh winning the WFI elections.

Sakshi Malik is among one of the top wrestlers who leveled allegations of sexual abuse against Brij Bhushan and launched an agitation earlier this year demanding action against the BJP leader.

“We fought from our hearts, but if a man like Brij Bhushan, his business partner and close aide is elected president of WFI, I will give up wrestling. From today onwards, you will not see me on the mat,” said a tearful Sakshi, keeping her shoes on the table during a dramatic announcement at a press conference in the national capital.

Malik said wrestlers had made demands for a female president as it would ensure no harassment took place.

“We have made demands for a female president. If the president were a woman, there would be no harassment. But earlier there was no participation of women and today you can see the list, not even a single woman got a position. We had fought with all our might, but this fight will continue. The new generation wrestlers have to fight,” said the 31-year-old, who is also a Commonwealth Games gold medallist.

Winning a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Games was the highlight of Sakshi’s 13-year career, during which she won three CWG medals, including gold in the 2022 edition, and four Asian championship medals.

Sakshi had become India’s first female wrestler to win an Olympic medal.

‘Government goes back on word’

Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat also addressed the media.

“It is unfortunate that the government has not kept its word that no Brij Bhushan loyalist will contest the WFI elections,” Bajrang said, adding that he is not sure whether he will continue to pursue competitive wrestling.

The wrestlers had managed to mobilize huge support from various sections of society during their protest, but the agitation subsided on the day they planned a march to the new Parliament building on May 28, when the Delhi Police cleared all the protesters out of Jantar Mantar removed due to riots.

The wrestlers had officially stopped their protest on June 7 when Sports Minister Anurag Thakur assured them that none of Brij Bhushan’s family members or close associates would be allowed into the WFI election fray.

“With Sanjay Singh becoming president, I don’t think women wrestlers will get justice because the backdoor politics are still working to break their resolve. About 15 to 20 girls met with the Sports Minister and told him about the exploitation. Today there are only six and they too are being forced to withdraw,” Bajrang claimed.

Bajrang said the ministry has gone back on its word that no Brij Bhushan loyalist would be allowed to contest the elections.

“After our protest in January, a monitoring committee was formed by the ministry. Several women wrestlers had deposed before the panel following which the Sports Minister told the media that persons associated with Brij Bhushan will not join the WFI.

“We waited three months for the outcome of the monitoring committee before starting the protest again. We fought for the truth and honor of our sisters and daughters,” said 29-year-old Bajrang.

The Tokyo Games bronze winner said it was a long battle and two to three generations may have to suffer before justice is achieved.

“The struggle we have had, I think the next one or two generations will have to continue the struggle to get justice. We fought with all our might, but the promise the government had made could not stand there. It’s very sad to have to say that,” he added.

‘Female wrestlers not safe under Sanjay Singh’

World Championships and Asian Games medalist Vinesh Phogat alleged that female wrestlers could face more exploitation under Sanjay Singh.

“Bajrang and I had also met the Home Minister and we clearly told him the names of the women wrestlers and what had happened to which wrestler. We urged him to look into it. He assured us he will look into it. But after waiting for three to four months, we started the protest at Jantar Mantar,” Vinesh said.

“It feels sad that people like Sanjay Singh are getting the top position. By making him president, the next generation of women could become victims of exploitation. What happened behind the curtain will now happen in the open. I don’t know how we will get justice in our country. The future of wrestling in this country looks bleak.”

Sakshi said the demand of the protesting wrestlers was to have a female member on the governing body to ensure the rights of the female wrestlers but unfortunately this came to nothing on Thursday.

“We demanded a female president. If there is a woman president, there will be no exploitation, but today there is not a single woman in the new governing body,” Sakshi lamented before putting her wrestling boots on the table.

Sanjay Singh elected as WFI chief

Sanjay Singh, a close associate of the outgoing WFI chief, became the new president and his panel won 13 of the 15 posts in the elections – a result that brought disappointment to the top three wrestlers – Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia – who had aggressively pushed for a change of guard at the federation.

Sanjay Singh had served as joint secretary of the WFI since 2019 and was previously on the federation’s executive council.

“National camps (for wrestling) will be organised. Wrestlers who want to do politics can do politics, those who want to do wrestling will do wrestling,” a jubilant Singh told reporters.

The WFI elections were originally scheduled to take place on August 12. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while holding a hearing on a petition in August, extended the postponement of the WFI elections till September 25. wrestling in the country, were initially scheduled for June this year.

(With input from agencies)



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