Wrestlers to meet Anurag Thakur again after inconclusive meeting over WFI Prez's sacking

Union Minister Anurag Thakur will meet the wrestlers again on Friday at 6 pm as they are still unhappy with the inaction against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Accused of sexual harassment by female wrestlers, Singh has refused to resign from his post despite receiving an ultimatum of 24 hours from the Sports Ministry on Thursday. Late Thursday night, Thakur met with several wrestlers including Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia and Commonwealth gold winner Vinesh Phogat. He flew to Delhi from Himachal Pradesh after an earlier meeting with government officials.

Sources revealed that the sports minister agreed to the demands of the wrestlers and promised to appoint new coaches, new physiotherapists, financial assistance to athletes and shift the training centers to Delhi. He also requested the wrestlers to focus on their practice and end their protest which is being carried out for three days in Delhi's Jantar Mantar. 

Earlier today, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced an emergency meeting with Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Deepak Punia in Delhi at 5:45 pm. "The points raised in the athletes' letter are of a very important nature and require immediate attention," the IOA said in its statement. 

WFI president refuses to step down

Singh on Friday termed the protest by the country's top grapplers "dharna of Shaheen Bagh" and reiterated that he will not step down from his post. "The protest by wrestlers against me is the dharna of Shaheen Bagh," Singh, who is also a six-time Lok Sabha MP from UP's Kaisarganj constituency, told reporters. 

Prior to his bizarre statements, he claimed that "protesting players have become a toy in the hands of Congress and Deepinder Hooda. This type of conspiracy was done against me by Congress almost three decades ago. Once again the conspiracy has been repeated". He has been accused of sexually and mentally harassing female athletes and coaches. The wrestlers have also alleged corruption in the federation.