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Punjab CM meets Vinesh’s family, asks why IOA didn’t raise objection
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann along with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Haryana unit vice-president Anurag Dhanda visited Charkhi Dadri to meet Vinesh’s family
The Opposition leaders on Wednesday asked why the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) did not raise any objection after wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the Paris Olympics after she was found overweight by 100 gm.
Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann along with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Haryana unit vice-president Anurag Dhanda visited Charkhi Dadri to meet Vinesh’s family. Mann had come to Haryana to address a rally and after hearing news about Vinesh’s disqualification, he met the wrestler’s family.
Interacting with reporters, Mann expressed surprise over Vinesh’s disqualification from the Olympics. He said Vinesh won three matches in a day by defeating strong wrestlers, including a defending champion.
“I am a sports lover and I don’t want to bring politics into it. What our Olympic association members are doing there and why they did not raise this issue. We are talking about becoming ‘Vishwa Guru’ but our Olympic association failed to raise the issue once. In an advertisement, BJP people said Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji stopped the Russia-Ukraine war. I want to ask why this injustice was not stopped against our daughter. The BJP leaders did not twitted once after Vinesh reached the final and their tweets started when she was disqualified,” he said.
The CM also raised questions over the role of Vinesh’s supporting staff.
“ Whether Vinesh should weigh herself every night. Her coach and physiotherapists had to ensure what should be eaten before the match and what should be eaten before going to bed. If she had exceeded weight, then her hair could have been shaved. She had sealed the silver medal and now she was disqualified without any medal,” he added.
Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and INLD leader Abhay Chautala termed Vinesh’s disqualification as “sad and unfortunate”.
“The entire matter should be investigated and the Indian government should intervene into the matter. I have never seen such a type of disqualification of any player in my life. Vinesh has proved that she is the champion by defeating strong players in the last three matches,” Hooda added.
Chautala said the sports minister and government should take appropriate action and Vinesh’s disqualification is painful to every Indian.
“ If such things happen, how will we encourage our children to choose sports? This is a big loss for Haryana too,” he said in Rohtak.
