Vinesh Phogat, Punia & others write letter to IOA President PT Usha against WFI President

Indian wrestlers, who are protesting against the WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for the past two days at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, have filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Indian Olympics Association (IOA). The wrestlers led by Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Ravi Dahiya, and Deepak Punia have written to IOA President PT Usha, requesting her to appoint a committee to enquire into the complaints of sexual harassment against the WFI president. 

They have also urged the IOA to dismiss the official body of the WFI and called for the resignation of Brij Bhushan Singh. The above-mentioned athletes want a new committee to be formed to run the affairs of the WFI in consultation with the wrestlers. In their complaint, the wrestlers have stated that Vinesh Phogat was mentally harassed by the WFI president after she missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo. 

The wrestlers have also levelled charges of corruption, claiming that there has been financial misappropriation on part of the WFI. They said that the contract payments were agreed with some of the senior wrestlers in the last few years through sponsorship received from TATA Motors but the payments were only partly made by the WFI. The wrestlers went on to add that the coaches and sports science staff that the WFI president puts in the National Camps are absolutely incompetent and not on merit. 
 

WFI controversy

India's top wrestlers including the likes of Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Malik are staging a protest against the WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is currently serving as a Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh. The wrestlers have levelled some serious allegations against Brij Bhushan Singh, including charges of corruption, sexual exploitation, and mental harassment. They want him to resign from the top post.  

Image: ANI