Vinesh Phogat accuses Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan of sexual harassment
NEW DELHI,JAN 18: Star wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Wednesday accused Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexually harassing female wrestlers. Phogat made the claim as star wrestlers from the country protested against the WFI boss and the sporting body in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
Vinesh Phogat also alleged she was subject to mental harassment by Brij Bhushan, adding she had contemplated suicide. The Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medalist said she was silenced in the past for speaking out against sexual harassment.
Vinesh broke down while speaking to the press as 31 wrestlers, including Olympic medalists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, were staging a protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The wrestlers demanded change in the WFI administration and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sports Authority of India to take action against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is also a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) from Kaiserganj, Uttar Pradesh.
“I spoke out against it. Brij Bhushan Saharan Singh was sexually harassing the female wrestlers,” Vinesh said on Wednesday.
“No one takes responsibility for injuries. They talk of banning wrestlers from nationals. The WFI president called me khota sikka (useless). I wanted to commit suicide,” she added.
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Vinesh also said she faced death threats for complaining against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
“I have been issued death threats since I complained to the Prime Minister regarding harassment,” she added.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been in charge of the WFI for nearly a decade. The 66-year-old was elected unopposed as the WFI president for the third time in 2019 for a three-year term.
Rio Olympic bronze medalist Sakshi Malik, who won the Commonwealth Games gold medal last year, said she was at the protest site as the face of many young wrestlers who were not able to join them.
“We are here for everyone. We are just the faces of so many young people around,” she pointed out.
Earlier in the day, Tokyo Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia alleged that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh slapped wrestlers and abused them, often.
“Our fight is not against the government or the Sports Authority of India. It is against WFI,” he had said.
-The India Today
