Monitoring Desk
Protests erupted in India after a prominent Indian athlete, Vinesh Phogat, accused the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and other coaches of sexually abusing female wrestlers for years.
According to Vinesh Phogat, at least 10 female wrestlers have admitted to her that WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh sexually exploited them. She made the accusations on Wednesday during a demonstration at the Jantar Mantar historic site against the WFI officials.
The claims have been denied by Singh. However, Phogat and other female athletes declared they would boycott international competitions unless Singh was dismissed. Additionally, they have resisted ending their protest until the government takes action to solve their issues.
Professional female wrestler
India’s sports ministry sought a response to the accusations from the WFI within three days on Wednesday. Phogat, one of India’s most accomplished female wrestlers, has medals from the World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games.
The 28-year-old, who comes from a line of professional female wrestlers, is also a prominent opponent of discriminatory attitudes toward women in sports. In 2021, she spoke to BBC Sports about how she overcame gender stereotypes to become a great professional athlete despite encountering sexism as a child.
Phogat said that some of the WFI coaches allocated to national training camps had been “sexually harassing women wrestlers for years”. “They interfere with our personal lives and relationships and bother female athletes far too much,” she alleged accusing Singh of sexual harassment. Sh claimed to know at least 10 to 12 female wrestlers who had approached her with stories of being sexually exploited by the WFI president.
Phogat asserted that she had not personally experienced harassment but claimed to have received threats of death from those close to Singh.
Other wrestlers also spoke against the WFI officials and Singh. Olympic bronze medalist wrestler Bajrang Punia, who was also present at the protest, accused the WFI president of running the wrestling federation in an “arbitrary manner”.
He claimed that while everyone applauds when “we win medals for India, afterward nobody is concerned about how we are treated, particularly by the federation”.
“There is no truth to the charges,” Singh, who is also an MP for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the north., said. He also refused to resign from his position.
Meanwhile, the sports authority of India has canceled the national wrestling camp of women, which was due to be held this week, due to the protests.
