Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) headquarters in Delhi was crowded with over 150 people, including junior wrestlers, their parents, and coaches, to express their strong criticism towards WFI's decision to grant exemption to Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia from Asian Games trials. It has been reported that they are seeking a meeting with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President P T Usha and ad-hoc panel chief Bhupender Singh Bajwa.
The wrestlers' protest saga seemed to be over but new controversy emerged when the Wrestling Federation of India's (WFI) ad-hoc panel exempted the wrestlers in the 65kg weight category (men's) and 53kg category (women's) and said that the candidates have already been chosen. This move has angered many wrestlers and coaches, who are also approaching Delhi High Court.
The U20 World Champion Panghal and U23 Asian Champion Sujeet Kalkal are among the prominent names who have been vocal against WFI's move. Panghal's coach Vikas Bhardhwaj also raised his voice and said that the wrestling community will not accept WFI's 'biased decision'.
"All we want is a meeting with IOA top brass. We will not accept any biased decision. This is wrong. We are here to request the panel to withdraw exemption granted to Bajrang and Vinesh," Vikas Bhardhwaj told PTI.
Antim Panghal, India's promising young wrestler, also slammed WFI's decision on Wednesday and compared her medal tally will Phogat. She revealed that she felt cheated during the Commonwealth Games trial and demanded a fair trial for everyone for the Asian Games.
"Vinesh (Phogat) has been given direct entry for Asian Games despite that she has not practiced for the past one year. I won gold medal in the 2022 Junior World Championship. Even in the Commonwealth Games trial, I had a 3-3 bout with her. Then too, I was cheated. Hum pehelwani chhod dein? All I want is a fair trial. I'm not saying that only I can defeat her, there are many women wrestlers out there who can do so," Panghal said on Wednesday.
