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Commonwealth Games gold medalist Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from wrestling on Thursday, December 21. The decision was taken after Brij Bhushan Singh's close aide Sanjay Singh was appointed the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
Sakshi addressed a press conference soon after and quit the sport with tears rolling down her eyes. She said:
“We fought from our heart, but if a man like Brij Bhushan, his business partner and a close aide has been elected as the president of WFI, then I quit wrestling.
"We slept for 40 days on the roads and a lot of people from several parts of the country came to support us."
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The Rio Olympic bronze medalist kept her shoes on the table as she quit the sport. She added:
“We wanted a female president, but that did not happen.”
Brij Bhushan Singh's son Prateek and son-in-law Vishal Singh did not contest in the Wrestling Federation of India election. However, his business partner and close aide Sanjay Singh contested the elections.
Both Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik had reached out to the Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, requesting him to not allow anyone associated with former WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh to contest in the elections.
Anurag Thakur put an end to the wrestlers' protest on June 7 as he assured that none of Brij Bhushan Singh's family members nor his close aides will be allowed to contest in the WFI elections.
However, the Sports Minister failed to keep up his promise, disappointing the wrestlers and forcing them to take harsh steps.
Bajrang Punia might also give up wrestling soon
Bajrang Punia, who was also present at the press conference, addressed the media with a heavy heart. He said:
“It’s unfortunate that the government did not stand by its word that no Brij Bhushan loyalist will contest the WFI election.”
He added:
“Upcoming women wrestlers will also face exploitation."
The 29-year-old, a Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist, completed his statement by saying that he was unsure if he would continue playing the sport or not.
