Published 15:00 IST, December 21st 2023
Sanjay Singh, Brij Bhushan Singh's loyalist, is new WFI chief; Wrestlers disappointed
WFI new chief: Sanjay Singh was up against Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anita Sheoran for the post of president.
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New Delhi: Brij Bhushan Singh's loyalist Sanjay Singh was on Thursday elected the new chief of the Wrestling Federation of India. For the unversed, UP Wrestling Association vice-president Sanjay Singh was up against Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anita Sheoran for the post of president in the much-delayed WFI elections.
Speaking to reporters after his victory, Sanjay said,"National Camps (for wrestling) will be organised. Wrestlers who want to do politics can do politics, those want to do wrestling will do wrestling..."
Elated over Sanjay Singh's win, former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said "This is not my personal victory, this is the victory of the wrestlers of the country. I hope that after the formation of the new federation, wrestling events will resume which were paused for the past 11 months...."
Sanjay Singh Is The New WFI Chief: How Wrestlers Reacted
Expessing disappointment over the selection of Sanjay Singh, Vinesh Phogat said,"We had exclusively detailed about every sort of harassment that happened with the women wrestlers. After waiting for 3-4 months, then we started the agitation at Jantar Mantar. We are very disappointed that the WFI president is a person who's a close aide of Brij Bhushan."
Echoing similar remakrs, Sakshi Malik stated,"We took many years to gather the courage to fight against the WFI. What we had demanded earlier hasn't been fulfilled. This fight is continuing as the future wrestlers will be fighting to restore their rights."
Bajrang Punia said,"The entire country wants to know that why wrestlers have been quite for so long. The oversight committee which was formed after the allegations were levelled then the sports minister on camera and on record said that nobody from the WFI front wouldn't be made a president. Unfortunately what has happened today is just the opposite. I don't think that our women wrestlers will get justice."
"The work to break the courage of women wrestlers is still going. Attempts have been made time and time to put pressure on the victims and eyewitness to change their statements", he claimed.
Updated 16:54 IST, December 21st 2023