Indian Olympic Asociation (IOA) President PT Usha on Thursday bashed the aggrieved wrestlers over their protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, saying they were tarnishing the country’s image by taking to the streets and it amounted to indiscipline.
Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik are the three athletes at the centre of the renewed protests against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation by the grapplers. Singh, a BJP MP, has denied the allegations and vowed to fight relentlessly until he is proven innocent.
Meanwhile, Usha criticised the wrestlers for not waiting until a report of the committee looking into the matter is out.
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"Wrestlers staging protest on streets amounts to indiscipline. It is tarnishing the image of India," PT Usha said, speaking to media persons after IOA's Executive Committee meeting.
The IOA has instituted a three-member ad-hoc panel, including former shooter Suma Shirur, Wushu Association of India chief Bhupendra Singh Bajwa and headed by a yet-to-be-named retired high court judge, to run the affairs of the WFI until a new body is elected.
The protest was first held in January when the group of Olympic-winning wrestlers came out against the WFI chief with sexual harassment allegations. The IOA and the government had managed to placate the wrestlers with assurances to probe their allegations against Sharan and the WFI.
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The committee, formed under the directions of Union minister Anurag Thakur, was told to give its report to the youth affairs and sports ministry and had reportedly given it on April 5. The ministry has, however, not yet made the findings public.
The wrestlers resumed their protest again this week due to the lack of action against the MP, which they were promised in January.
