Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, on the sidelines of the protest by wrestlers against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), said they felt hurt by the statement from P.T. Usha on the issue.
“It feels bad. She has also been an athlete, an icon. And she is saying these things about female athletes being a woman herself,” he said in an interaction with ANI.
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The wrestlers protesting at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar moved the court after failing to convince Delhi Police to register an FIR on their April 21 complaint in which seven national and international medallists, including a minor, alleged sexual harassment by WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
On Thursday Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Usha said the grapplers protesting on the streets are tarnishing the country’s reputation. “Wrestlers staging protest on streets amounts to indiscipline. It is tarnishing the image of India,” Usha told reporters after IOA’s Executive Committee meeting.
“(She’s) calling us indisciplined. This is not a wrestling bout. This is a fight for all the athletes in the country who can fight united because India’s daughters are being exploited.” Bajrang said during an interaction with the media,” Bajrang added.
The Supreme Court of India will hear a plea, later today, by top Indian wrestlers including for the registration of an FIR against the WFI president.
“We have a lot of expectations (for justice) from the Supreme Court because as much as we’ve heard, (Justice D. Y.) Chandrachud Sir always stands with the truth. We will continue to protest until we get justice.” added Bajrang.