On June 23, Olympic medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, several coaches and parents of established and upcoming wrestlers questioned the exemption granted to six wrestlers – Sakshi Malik, her husband Satyawart Kadian, Bajrang Punia, his wife Sangeeta Phogat, Vinesh Phogat and Jitendra Kinha – from the Asian Games and World Championship trials by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
Following the exemption, the six wrestlers would merely have to win against the winners of the trials in their respective categories to secure their place in the Indian team. Notably, the six wrestlers receiving the IOA’s generosity are involved in protests against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh concerning an alleged sexual harassment case. Apart from these six wrestlers, other wrestlers would have their trials in July.
Yogeshwar Dutt has said that the exemption granted to the wrestlers is unfair to rest of the wrestlers. He said, “I’m not sure what criteria the IOA committee used to decide on the trials, and that too for these six wrestlers only. Ravi Dahiya is an Olympic silver medalist as well as a CWG gold medalist, Deepak Punia is a CWG gold medalist, Anshu Malik is a World silver medalist, Sonam Malik is also there and many others. I don’t understand why these six wrestlers have been granted an exemption. This is utterly wrong. Even in the old WFI setup, this was not done.”
Touting it “discrimination,” the Olympic medallist has urged wrestlers across categories to speak up. “I am requesting that all greco-roman, men’s freestyle, and women wrestlers raise their voices in protest of this unfairness. I’m not asking you to sit in protest but raise your voice through the media and write letters to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, Anurag Thakur, the Sports Minister, and the IOA,” Dutt said.
Yogeshwar Dutt further asserted that even when the teams were sent without trials, the best teams were chosen. However, the protesting wrestlers have been away from the mat for about a year. “Such a step has never been taken in the history of Indian wrestling. Even if they sent teams with no trials, the best team was chosen. Exemptions had been granted in the past, but not to everyone; only exceptional performers and in-form wrestlers were considered. These six wrestlers have been away from the mat for a year, so this is wrong,” he said.
Vinesh Phogat has respondent to Yogeshwar Dutt’s remarks, calling him “spineless” and alleging that the Olympic medallist was insensitive to the plight of women wrestler’s complaints as a member of the panel probing complaints. She further alleged that Dutt pressurised the families to take their cases back.
“When I heard the video of Yogeshwar Dutt, his ugly laugh got stuck in my mind. He was a part of both the committees made for women wrestlers. When women wrestlers were narrating their ordeals before the committee, he used to laugh very badly. When two female wrestlers came out to drink water, he came out and told them that nothing would happen to Brij Bhushan. Go and do your practice,” Vinesh Phogat tweeted. “The whole wrestling world understood that Yogeshwar was eating leftovers from Brij Bhushan’s plate”, she added.
Coaches, Parents Protest IOA’s Exemptions
Coach of upcoming wrestler Sujeet, Dayanand Kalkal, parents of young wrestlers Anshu Malik and Sonam Malik, and U-20 world champion Antim Panghal’s coach Vikas Bharadwaj have denounced the IOA panel’s decision.
Dayanand Kalkal said that the trials should be fair and without any bias. He told reporters, “I spoke to Mr Bhupender Singh Bajwa (head of WFI ad-hoc panel) and told him that this is not a good decision. Trials should be fair and without any bias. He listened to me and also assured that they will take back this exemption.” He added, “He also said that the trials will be conducted by the new federation after July 11 elections. Let’s see what happens.”
It was also reported that a Maharashtra-based wrestler remarked on the exemption granted to Jitender Kinha. The wrestler said, “Jitender has not win a single trial in the last two years. How can you put him directly in final?”
Furthermore, as per the reports Sakshi Malik struggled to beat upcoming Sonam Malik in several trials in the recent past, while Kinha has not been a regular presence in the Indian team for international tournaments.
World championship silver medallist Anshu Malik’s father Dharmendra Malik said that these are not regular trials and that there is no scope for bias. He told reporters, “Asian Games come after four years. The World Championship with Olympic qualification also comes after four years. These are no ordinary trials. Exempting these wresters from trials is absolutely wrong.”
Dharmendra Malik added, “The protest was to just get justice and now they themselves are inflicting injustice on other wresters.” He further said, “All should compete in full draw. All wrestlers are equals. And if there is a weak wrestler, he will become strong only after competing with the strong ones. Isn’t it?”
Meanwhile, the father of Sonam Malik, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, Rajender Malik, said that wrestlers who make an effort to win the trial should be assured participation in at least the Asian Games. He said, “What is the reward for winning four bouts in the first trials? If they (IOA) have to give extra time to six wrestlers, they can but any wrestler who is winning the first trial should be assured that he will go to Asian Games. Later, if he wins the second trial, then he or she should go for World Championships also.” He added, “Isn’t that fair? You tell me.”
U-20 world champion Antim Panghal’s coach Vikas Bharadwaj said, “This is wrong. We will protest against it. This is not acceptable,” for the IOA panel’s decision to grant the exemption to the six wrestlers.
