NEW DELHI, Jan 3: Hundreds of junior wrestlers gathered at Jantar Mantar in this city on Wednesday to voice their protest against the loss of a pivotal year in their careers, which they attributed to the actions of top grapplers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat. This development added a new dimension to the ongoing crisis in Indian wrestling. The junior wrestlers surprised the police by arriving from various parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi, loaded into buses. Many of them were from the Virender Wrestling Academy in Narela, and nearly 300 of them were from the Arya Samaj Akhara in Chhaprauli, Baghpat. Many are still crammed into buses, and when more wrestlers show up at the historic protest site, they intend to get off and join their comrades.As they chanted anti-Punia, anti-Malik, and anti-Phogat slogans, the security guards found it difficult to keep them under control. The slogan “UWW save our wrestling from these 3 wrestlers” was flown by the demonstrators. Strangely, the top three wrestlers at the same protest location nearly a year ago were able to mobilise a sizable crowd in support of their cause when they demanded the arrest of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on charges of harassing women wrestlers sexually. Thousands of supporters of Malik, Phogat, and Punia turned out from a variety of social groups, including farmers’ organisations, social workers, politicians, women’s organisations, and wrestling fraternity members.The three are currently the target of demonstrations from members of their community who have gathered at Jantar Mantar, claiming that they have ruined their careers. National teams and tournaments have not taken place since January 2023 because the WFI has been suspended twice and the sport is now governed by an ad hoc panel. Protesters on Wednesday called for the reinstatement of the suspended WFI following the dissolution of the ad hoc panel that the sports ministry had designated to oversee the sport.
