Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has chosen not to wade into the controversy surrounding wrestler Bajrang Punia's decision to return his Padma Shri in protest against Sanjay Singh's election as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), a Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist. Punia, an Olympic medallist, attempted to hand over a protest letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday but was blocked by the police and left the Padma Shri medallion on a footpath.
"I have already spoken enough. No more comments," stated Thakur at the SAI centre during a function to honour distinguished athletes and Asian Games medal winners. Thakur also inaugurated new hostel facilities and a Synthetic Athletic Track at SAI. Despite avoiding the controversy, Thakur urged past champions to step forward and assist budding athletes in making a mark in international competitions.
Highlighting the recent success of Indian athletes, Thakur said, "Our athletes won over 100 medals both in the Asian Games (in Hangzhou) and in the Asian Para Games. These stories need to be highlighted. Before they departed (for the Asian Games) I had asked them whether they would be able to breach the 100-medal mark, and they expressed collective confidence, and they did it too." The Minister called upon former champions to contribute to sustaining this success in future competitions.
Meanwhile, A day after Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri Award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Virender Singh Yadav, the gold medalist at the 2005 Summer Deaflympics, announced he would do the same in protest. This decision comes after the close aide of Brij Bhushan Singh, Sanjay Singh, was elected as the President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
Virender Singh Yadav, also known as Goonga Pehalwan, had received the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 2021. Announcing his decision on X (formerly Twitter), Virender also called upon cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra to express their stance on the ongoing discord between players and WFI. “I will also return the Padma Shri for my sister and the daughter of the country, Honorable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Sir. I am proud of your daughter and my sister SakshiMalik,” wrote Virender Singh.
On Thursday, Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik declared her retirement from wrestling after Sanjay Singh's election as WFI president. At the press conference, she removed her shoes, placed them on the dais, and left in tears, stating, "I am dejected and I will not be competing in wrestling anymore."