Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia, on Saturday, expressed concern that no wrestling events have taken place in the last several months. He urged the Sports Ministry to initiate "wrestling activities as soon as possible." Punia, using his official X (formerly Twitter) account, pointed out that the 2024 Olympic Games are just seven months away, but there seems to be a lack of seriousness towards this significant multi-sport event.
The accomplished wrestler disclosed the absence of national tournaments or training camps for several months, hampering the preparation of players for the 2024 Olympic Games. To secure the future of wrestlers, he appealed to the Sports Ministry to promptly resume all activities.
"Wrestling work has come to a standstill for the last several months. Neither national events have been held, nor have any camps been organized to prepare the players. Despite the Olympics being just 7 months away, there seems to be a lack of seriousness, even though wrestling has secured four consecutive medals in the last four Olympics. The Sports Ministry is requested to start all wrestling activities as soon as possible to save the future of the players," said Punia.
In earlier developments, Olympian Sakshi Malik emotionally announced her retirement from wrestling, citing the Center's breach of its commitment not to appoint an aide of Brij Bhushan as a wrestling federation office-bearer. Subsequently, Bajrang Punia expressed reservations about the election of Sanjay Singh as the new WFI chief and returned his Padma Shri in protest. The prominent wrestlers had previously led a protest against Brij Bhushan, accusing him of sexual harassment.
In response to these recent developments, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced Bhupinder Singh Bajwa as the chairman of a newly established ad-hoc committee to oversee the day-to-day matters of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) with immediate effect on Wednesday. The IOC's announcement followed the Union Sports Ministry's suspension of the entire WFI's governing council. The ad-hoc committee, formed at the ministry's request, includes MM Somaya and Manjusha Kanwar, who will assist Bajwa in managing the WFI's operations.