Wrestler Vinesh Phogat Shares Letter to Sports Ministry Amid Asian Games Trials Controversy

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 26th June. Wrestler Vinesh Phogat made public on Sunday a letter that several of the protesting wrestlers had written to the sports ministry, requesting that the dates for trials for the Asian Games and the World Championships later this year be extended.

Vinesh posted an image of the letter with no date on social media on Sunday, mentioning six wrestlers requesting extra time for training ahead of the trials.

Since the beginning of the year, wrestlers have been protesting against the outgoing president of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, on charges of sexual harassment.

हम आंदोलित पहलवानों ने ट्रायल्स को सिर्फ़ आगे बढ़ाने के लिए चिट्ठी लिखी थी, क्योंकि पिछले 6 महीने से आंदोलन में शामिल होने के कारण हम प्रैक्टिस नहीं कर पाए.

इस मामले की गंभीरता को हम समझते हैं इसलिए यह चिट्ठी आपसे साझा कर रहे. दुश्मन पहलवानों की एकता में सेंध लगाना चाहता है.… pic.twitter.com/Otvhhu1Z75

— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) June 25, 2023

The ad-hoc panel of the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) had earlier exempted the protesting wrestlers from taking part in the trials, which was heavily criticised by coaches and parents of the other wrestlers including Yogeshwar Dutt.

The ad-hoc panel had also requested the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to extend the date of submission for entries by one month, from its last date of July 15.

The undated letter, addressed to sports minister Anurag Thakur, reads, “It is requested to you that due to their participation in the wrestlers’ protest, the below-mentioned wrestlers need some additional time to prepare for the trials for the Asian Games and the World Championships.”

The request to be awarded time to train for the trials was made for protesting wrestlers Bajrang Punia (65kg), Sakshi Malik (62kg), her husband Satyawart Kadian (97kg), Sangeeta Phogat (57kg), Jitender Kumar (86kg) and Vinesh (53kg) herself.

“Hence it is a request to you that trials must be held for these wrestlers after August 10, 2023,” the letter, signed by all six wrestlers mentioned, added.

Along with sharing the letter, Vinesh wrote on her Twitter page, “The protesting wrestlers had only requested to postpone the date of the trials, since due to our participation in the protests for the last six months, we did not get enough time for practice.

“We understand that this is a serious matter, which is why we are sharing this letter with you. The enemy is trying to break the unity among the wrestlers, we cannot let them have success,” Vinesh added.