Wrestlers’ Protest Is Tarnishing Nation’s Image: IOA Chief PT Usha

New Delhi: The top Indian wrestlers participating in the sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar, according to Indian Olympic Association President and former sports legend PT Usha, are not acting with discipline and ought to have consulted the body before taking to the streets.

“Wrestlers staging protest on streets amounts to indiscipline. Wrestlers’ protest on streets is tarnishing India’s image,” PT Usha said.

The three major protestors against Wrestling Federation of India head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation by the wrestlers, are Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and Sakshi Malik.

“Our impression is that the IOA has an athletes’ commission for accusations of sexual harassment. They might have come to us earlier themselves, rather than going to the street (again), but they have not at all been to IOA,” Usha told reporters following the Executive Committee meeting of IOA.

Bajrang Punia replied in response to PT Usha’s statement, saying, “We did not expect such a harsh response from IOA President PT Usha, we expected support from her.”

Additionally, the IOA established a three-person ad hoc panel, comprised of former shooter Suma Shirur, the head of the Wushu Association of India, Bhupendra Singh Bajwa, and a yet-to-be-identified retired high court judge, to manage the WFI’s activities until a new body is chosen.

After the protest originally began in January, the IOA and the government were able to appease the wrestlers by promising to look into their accusations against Sharan and the WFI.

The protesting wrestlers claim that they have learned through media sources that Brij Bhushan Singh has received a clean chit from the panel looking into the charges and that the panel’s report is currently at the Ministry of Sports and is not being made public despite requests.