Indian ace wrestler Bajrang Punia has filed an urgent joining petition in the Delhi High Court after declining the Wrestling Federation of India’s invitation to participate in the upcoming national trials. Punia is seeking a stay on the selection competition that the WFI is organising on March 10-11.
According to PTI, the matter will heard on Friday after Bajrang, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and her husband Satywart Kadiyan moved the court on Wednesday.
Bajrang Punia, although not confirming the filing of a petition, has raised concerns about the government’s silence regarding issues affecting Indian wrestling.
The Indian team for the Asian Wrestling Championships Olympic Qualifier in Kyrgyzstan next month will be selected based on the trials held at Delhi’s IG Stadium.
A PTI report said that Bajrang has been training in Russia for the last two months for which he has spent a fortune. However, he won’t compete in trials if the Sanjay Singh-led WFI conducts them.
“I would not spend Rs 30 lakh on my training if I were to not compete in the trials, but how the suspended WFI is conducting the trials? I don’t get what the government’s compulsion is (on allowing WFI to conduct trials)?” Bajrang said, PTI reported.
Bajrang expressed his confusion, questioning how a sports body suspended by the Indian government could issue a circular and announce the trials. He questioned the government’s silence on the matter. Bajrang stated that he and others would only participate in the trials if they were conducted by the ad-hoc panel or the government itself, emphasizing his disbelief at a suspended body announcing the trials.
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh appealed to the protesting wrestlers to put the past behind them and participate in the upcoming trials. This request comes after a prolonged protest led by the trio at Jantar Mantar, where they demanded the arrest of then WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, whom they accused of sexual harassment.
Bajrang Punia, the bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, stated that not only him but also Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat would be skipping the trials. “This decision to not appear in trials is a joint decision taken by us. We are together in this,” he affirmed.
When asked specifically if they had taken legal action against the trials, Bajrang denied the development. However, PTI confirmed that the four wrestlers had approached the Delhi High Court regarding the matter.
The United World Wrestling (UWW) had lifted the suspension on the WFI earlier in the month. Still, the government, which had also suspended the National Sports Federation (NSF) for rule violations, has not yet made a similar decision. Sakshi has already announced her retirement, while Vinesh, one of India’s most decorated wrestlers, made a successful return to competitive wrestling by winning gold at the Nationals in Jaipur earlier this month.