Wrestler Vinesh Phogat announced on Tuesday she is returning her Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards to protest the election of Sanjay Singh as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
“I am returning my Major Dhyan Chand and Khel Ratna awards. Thank you to the ‘powerful’ ones for putting me in this situation,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter), and posted her open letter to prime minister Narendra Modi in this regard.
She received the Khel Ratna in 2020, and Arjuna Award, in 2016. These are the highest and second-highest sports awards, respectively, in the country.
Phogat’s announcement comes days after fellow grappler Sakshi Malik ‘retired’ from the sport, while Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri – the country’s fourth-highest civilian honour – to protest the victory of Singh, a ‘loyalist’ of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh; he succeeded Brij Bhushan as the head of the national wrestling body.
The WFI elections, held on December 21, saw people close to Brij Bhushan win 13 out of 15 posts, including the president’s. The results were announced the same day. On Sunday, however, the Union sports ministry suspended the newly elected governing body until further orders.
Earlier this year, wrestlers led by Malik, Phogat, and Punia, held two rounds of protest against Brij Bhushan, accusing him of sexually harassing female wrestlers, including minors, as federation chief. Each time, the agitation was withdrawn after the BJP-led Union government assured them of ‘justice.’
The BJP MP has repeatedly denied allegations of sexual harassment.
