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India's veteran wrestler Sakshi Malik has announced her retirement from wrestling. The Indian Wrestling Federation elections were held on Thursday (December 21). Sanjay Singh has become the new president. He is close to former president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. This year the wrestlers opened a front against Brij Bhushan Sharan and protested at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. Now that someone close has become the president, Sakshi has decided to retire.
Wrestler Sakshi Malik said at a press conference in Delhi, “We slept on the streets for 40 days and many people from different parts of the country came to support us. If Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's business partner and close associate is elected president, I quit wrestling. Thanks to everyone who supported us. Fight with all your heart. When Brijbhushan Sharan Singh was asked about Sakshi's retirement, he said, “What do I have to do with it?”
#WATCH | Delhi: Wrestler Sakshi Malik says “We slept for 40 days on the roads and a lot of people from several parts of the country came to support us. If Brij Bhushan Singh’s business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling…” pic.twitter.com/j1ENTRmyUN
— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2023
It is to be mentioned that earlier this year, veteran wrestlers of the country started a movement against Brij Bhushan Singh and demanded his removal from the post. These wrestlers included Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. All of them alleged that Bhushan had sexually abused women players. She defeated Commonwealth Games gold medalist Anita Sheoran. Anita had the support of the wrestlers who opposed Bhushan.
Earlier this year, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat opened a front against Bhushan and staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. However, Bhushan denied all the allegations against him. But later he had to leave his post after the orders of the Supreme Court.
The rise of Sanjay Singh's panel
Sanjay Singh's panel prevailed in these elections. People from his own panel won most of the posts. Sanjay was the vice president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association. He got 40 votes, while Anita got seven votes. However, Anita's panel has assumed the post of General Secretary. Here Prem Chand Lochab defeated Darshan Lal. The wrestlers who opposed these elections must be heartbroken as once again the people of Bhushan seem to be dominating it. On June 7, these wrestlers ended their protest, that too on the condition that no one from Bhushan's family would contest the election. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur gave this assurance.
The ban will be lifted
Due to the delay in the elections, the United Wrestling Federation had banned WFI but now that the elections have taken place, it can be expected that the ban will be lifted. A new executive committee will work to remove this ban. It was because of this ban that Indian wrestlers played as neutral players in the 2023 World Championship. The elections were supposed to be held in July but were delayed due to court cases. The Supreme Court cleared the way for the elections by lifting the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
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