'Request Sports Ministry to start wrestling activities as soon as possible', says Bajrang Punia

India has secured only quota for Paris Olympics.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, Bajrang Punia, requests Sports Ministry to start wrestling activities as soon as possible ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024 which is just a few months away. Till date, India has secured only one quota through Antim Panghal.

Bajarang Punia through his X account (formerly Twitter) said, “Wrestling has come to a standstill for the last several months. Neither has any national been held nor have any camps been organized to prepare the players. Here are Olympic Games after 7 months but no one seems serious about the Olympics whereas wrestling has given four consecutive medals in the last four Olympics”

He further added, “Sports Ministry is requested to start all wrestling activities as soon as possible so that the future of the players can be saved.”

Wrestling has been helped India in securing several medals at the Olympics. At Rio 2016, Sakshi Malik was one of the two Indians to win a medal and the streak continued in 2020 as well where Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang Punia went on to claim silver and bronze medals respectively. However, the state of the sport doesn’t look good for the past year.

None of the top wrestlers won any major medal at the world event apart from youngster Antim Panghal this season and to make matters more worse Sakshi Malikh, 31, retired from the sport a few days back.

Wrestling has been in poor state since the start of the year. Several top wrestlers including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat protested against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for sexual assault and poor conduct. The protest continued throughout the year in phases.

An Ad-hoc committe was then formed to run the day-to-day activities and in a few months time post the suspension of WFI by world body UWW the elections were held successfully. However, the new president – Sanjay Singh – is a close aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh which did not go well with the wrestlers. In a few days time upon the appointment of new president, the Sports Ministry stepped in and suspended the WFI for flouting its own constitution.

In the absence of WFI, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has formed a new ad-hoc body to run the day-to-day activities.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram