Rio Olympics bronze medallist for India, Sakshi Malik on Thursday announced that she will be hanging up her wrestling boots, in protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Singh's appointment as the new Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president post the elections. (More Wrestling News)
“In the end, we slept for 40 days on the roads but I’d like to thank the several people of our country who came to support us during the protests earlier this year. If Brij Bhushan Singh’s business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling…” an emotional Malik told media in a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday.
"We wanted a female president but that did not happen," the 31-year-old, who is also a CWG gold medallist, added.
Ahead of the elections, Oylmpic medal winning grapplers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi had repeatedly requested Sports Minister Anurag Thakur to stop anyone associated with Brij Bhushan from contesting the WFI polls.
As for her peers from the very sport, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, did not say whether they will retire from the sport.
"It's unfortunate that government did not stand by its word that no Brij Bhushan loyalist will contest WFI election," Bajrang said.
"Upcoming women wrestlers will also face exploitation," Vinesh added.
(With PTI inputs)
