Wrestling
Bajrang, Sakshi request sports minister to debar Brij Bhushan loyalists from contesting WFI polls
The long-awaited WFI elections are scheduled to be held on December 21 during its General Body Meeting after the Supreme Court set aside the stay order issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Sakshi Malik talking to the media as Bajrang Punia (left) listened to her remarks. (Source: Hindustan Times)
Olympic medal-winning wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik met Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday in New Delhi. They requested him not to allow any acquaintances of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to contest the forthcoming elections of the national federation.
The long-awaited WFI elections are scheduled to be held on December 21 during its General Body Meeting after the Supreme Court set aside the stay order issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The WFI elections had faced several roadblocks after the federation's member associations moved the courts seeking voting rights. As the elections got delayed, United World Wrestling (UWW) banned WFI, forcing Indian wrestlers to contest under the flag of the international federation.
The results of the freshly scheduled elections will be announced on the same day.
Bajrang and Sakshi were the faces of the wrestlers' protest against Brij Bhushan. The wrestlers had accused the former president of the WFI and BJP MP from Kaiserganj, Uttar Pradesh, of sexually exploiting women's wrestlers.
The wrestlers ceased their protest after the government assured them that no one from the Brij Bhushan camp would contest the elections.
Sanjay Singh, a Brij Bhushan loyalist, and 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anita Sheoran are in contention for the WFI president's post.
The wrestlers have thrown their weight behind Sheoran, who is contesting the elections from the Odisha association.
"We want some former wrestler to take charge of WFI, who at least knows what it takes to win medals for the country. Anita ji (Sheoren) is a Commonwealth Games medallist and understands the demands of wrestlers," Bajrang told news agency PTI.
