Olympic Bajrang Punia hit back after IOA president and legendary Indian athlete PT Usha gave a scathing criticism of the wrestlers protesting at the Jantar Mantar in the capital city, demanding the resignation of WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh, who is accused of sexual harassment against multiple women wrestlers.
Usha said that the wrestlers staging a protest was a blemish on the image of the country in the eyes of the world.
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Bajrang hit back at the legendary athlete recollecting her reaction when something similar occurred at her academy in Kerala.
“She herself was an athlete and she is also a woman. We did not expect this harsh reaction from her, we expected support," Bajrang told PTI.
“If IOA thinks wrestlers demanding justice is tarnishing the image of the country, what was that when she broke down and explained her plight after being harassed by a few goons at her academy? What had happened then?" asked Bajrang.
Bajrang was referring to Usha breaking down during a press conference in February this year when she spoke about harassment at her academy in Balussery, Kerala.
Multiple Commonwealth gold medallist, Vinesh Phogat, urged the cricketers and high-profile athletes to express their support against the injustice.
The wrestlers, who had called off the dharna that they staged earlier in the year after getting certain assurances from the authorities, restarted the protest after their calls to the WFI oversight committee went unanswered.
The oversight committee, headed by boxing legend MC Mary Kom, installed to take care of the day-to-day functioning of the WFI and in order to produce a report on the allegations, did not address the concerns of the wrestlers and Vinesh said that multiple calls went unanswered and the protestors were left with few options left, such as to move court.
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The disillusioned wrestlers spearheaded by Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik restarted their darna once again as the promises weren’t kept up and the police refused to file an FIR pertaining to the issue despite seven women wrestlers coming forward to register a complaint.
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