With Bajrang Punia returning his Padma Shri on a footpath in Central Delhi, on Saturday, wrestler Vinesh Phogat returned her Arjuna and Khel Ratna awards and left them at the pavement of New Delhi's Kartavya Path due to the police there stopping Phogat from reaching PM's office. (More Wrestling News)
Fellow protestor and wrestler Bajrang shared on his social media feed that showed Phogat walking with the awards before returning them
He wrote on X, "May this day not come in the life of any player. The women wrestlers of the country are going through the worst phase."
Just few days back, Phogat wrote a social media post wherein she announced that she will be returning her awards that she won in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
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Phogat said that the awards "have no meaning in my life now" and "every woman wants to live life with respect."
Her decision comes just days after Bajrang returned his Padma Shri, in protest against the election of Sanjay Singh, a close aide of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, as the new WFI President.
In her letter to PM Modi, Phogat wrote, "“Do women athletes exist only to feature on government’s advertisements… are the protesting wrestlers traitors."
“Those fancy flex boards with your advertisements have become old and Sakshi, too, has now retired. The exploiter has also said his dominance will continue and has indulged in very crude sloganeering. Just spare five minutes of your life and listen to the statements given by that man in the media, you will know what all he has done… What’s more serious is that he has forced many female wrestlers to step back. This is very scary,” she had said in her letter.
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The 29-year-old stated that she tried to forget the entire incident but it 'wasn't easy'. “Sir, our medals and awards are being said to be worth Rs 15, but these medals are dearer to us than our lives. When we won medals for the country, the whole country took pride in us. Now, when we raise our voices for justice, we are being called traitors. Are we traitors, Prime Minister?” she had asked.
