Sakshi Malik bids adieu wrestling amidst new WFI President appointment

Renowned Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik has decided to retire from the game following the new WFI President’s appointment. For the unversed, the previous WFI (Wrestling Federation of India) President, Brij Bhushan was convicted of sexual harassment of players. He has been replaced by Sanjay Kumar Singh, Bhushan’s proclaimed ‘right-hand’. Meanwhile, Malik expressed her disappointment alongside Vinesh Phogat and the former has decided to retire and released a statement.

“We fought from our heart but if a man like Brij Bhushan, his business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I give up wrestling. From today onwards you will not see me on the mat [breaks down]…I thank all my country-men who supported us until today.”

“We have made demands for a woman president. If the president would be a woman, harassment would not happen. But, there was no participation of women earlier and today you can see the list, not even a single woman was given a position. We had fought with complete strength but this fight will continue. The wrestlers of the new generation have to fight.”

Vinesh Phogat also expresses disappointment in the new WFI President

“Bajrang and I had also met the home minister and we clearly told him the names of the female wrestlers and what has happened to which wrestler. We urged him to please look into it. He assured us that he will look into it. But after waiting for 3-4 months, we started the protest at Jantar Mantar.”

“It feels sad that people like Sanjay Singh are getting the top position. Making him president means the coming generation of women could well suffer exploitation. What happened behind the curtain will now happen in the open now. I don’t know how we will get justice in our country. It’s sad that the future of wrestling is in the dark. To whom shall we convey our grief?… We are still fighting.”

“It’s unfortunate that government did not stand by its word that no Brij Bhushan loyalist will contest the WFI elections,” rued Bajrang and added that he was not sure if he would continue to pursue competitive wrestling. “With Sanjay Singh becoming president, I don’t think women wresters will get justice because back door politics is still on to break their resolve. About 15-20 girls met with the sports minister and told him about the exploitation and today they are down to just six and they too are being coerced to pull out.”