Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule has urged the Union Sports Minister to engage in discussions with wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia amid an ongoing controversy. Expressing her stance on the matter, Sule emphasized the importance of the Sports Minister meeting the athletes to understand their perspectives.
The Union Sports Minister should meet them and listen to what they have to have, said Supriya Sule. Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri award Friday in protest against the appointment of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's confidant Sanjay Singh as president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
On Thursday, Sakshi Malik, another Olympic bronze medalist, returned her medal and announced her retirement at a press conference in Delhi, symbolically placing her wrestling boots on the table before media. Earlier this year, Malik and Punia, along with other top wrestlers, launched an agitation against Singh's predecessor, Brij Bhushan, accusing him of sexual exploitation of women wrestlers during his tenure as WFI president. The matter is currently in court.