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Wrestlers urged not to discard medals in river
India's top wrestlers, including Olympic and World Championship medallists, announced they would dispose of their international medals in the Ganga river.
India’s top wrestlers stopped short of immersing their international medals in the Ganga amid high drama in Haridwar, as their protest, which took an ugly turn on Sunday when they were detained by the Delhi Police, saw another unfortunate twist on Tuesday while they sat inconsolably on the banks of the holy river.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, Rio Games bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, and double World Championship bronze medallist Vinesh Phogat -- they together have 45 senior international medals between them -- announced earlier in the day that they would dispose of their global honours in the river at 6pm.
But after sitting at Har Ki Paudi for 90 minutes, an intervention by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait, led the wrestlers to hold off for now. Tikait, who took away the medals from the wrestlers and kept them in his custody, sought five days from the wrestlers to ensure their demands are met.
“These are our daughters. We can’t let them down. They are very disturbed and hence took this decision. These medals are the country’s pride, so we stopped them from immersing them in the Ganga,” Tikait said as unprecedented scenes of wrestlers breaking down in a huddle played out on live television. It was not clear how Tikait intended to fulfil the promise.
Minutes earlier, Malik and Phogat sat clasping their box full of medals while their spouses, wrestlers Satyavrat Kadian and Somveer Rathee, comforted them. Punia, one of the most successful Indian sportsmen in history -- he has one Olympic medal, four World Championship medals, and two Asian Games medals -- also broke down as their supporters formed a human chain to shield them from the huge crowd that had assembled at the ghat on the occasion of Ganga Dusshera.
Earlier on Tuesday, Punia, Phogat, and Malik had tweeted passionate statements expressing their hurt.
“We feel why did we even win medals at Olympics or World Championships. Did we win medals to be dragged on the streets and be declared criminals?” they wrote.
“We feel there’s no use of these medals. The thought of doing away with our medals kills us, but we can’t compromise on our self respect. We thought of returning it to the President, but despite being a woman, she watched the spectacle silently. We thought of returning it to the Prime Minister who used to call us his daughters, but he never thought of checking on us. In fact, he invited our oppressor (Singh) to the new Parliament. His pictures in spotless whites pricked at us.”
“We are going to immerse these medals in the holy Ganga. The river is as sacred to us as our medals.”
The wrestlers also announced they’ll sit on a hunger strike at India Gate as “there is no reason to live without our medals”.
The wrestlers have demanded the arrest of Singh, a BJP MP from Gonda who has ruled Indian wrestling for 12 years, over allegations of sexual harassment of athletes, including at least one minor. Singh has denied the charges, hit back at the wresters, and even said that their medals are worth ₹15 each. Though he has been removed from WFI, which stands suspended, and two FIRs have been filed against him, the wrestlers have demanded that he be arrested immediately.
The march to the new Parliament building on Sunday, when the wrestlers were manhandled, stopped and detained by police, coincided with the fact that Singh was inside the House during the special proceedings while the wrestlers were camped at Jantar Mantar for 38 days demanding action.
Though the sports ministry did not comment on Tuesday’s events, officials in the know pointed out various steps taken by the government throughout the protest to assure the wrestlers of action, and asked them to be patient.
The Delhi Police, which uprooted the tents from the protest site at Jantar Mantar on Sunday, indicated on Tuesday that it would deny the wrestlers permission to protest at India Gate.
“They have not approached us till now with any such request. If they want to protest, they will have to submit a written communication to the DCP concerned, following which a call will be taken accordingly,” a police officer was quoted by PTI as saying. The Delhi Police will suggest alternative protest venues such as Ramleela Ground and Burari, the officer added, according to the news agency.
People close to the protest said it was not easy for the wrestlers to decide to part with their medals.
They met at Sakshi Malik’s Railways house in Delhi after being released from detention on Sunday. “Their morale was at an all-time low. All of them broke down. They felt betrayed,” a wrestler connected with the stir said, asking not to be named. On Monday, they held a meeting with some khap leaders in Gurugram, following which Punia, Phogat, and Malik left for their homes in Haryana. Punia also attended a virtual meeting with Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders on Monday night where the future of the protest was discussed.
But the decision to let go of medals was taken on Tuesday morning by Punia, Phogat, and Malik.
“It was their decision. Had they consulted us, we would have dissuaded them from doing it. I was informed about their decision at 10am. They told me that they want to get rid of all the international medals they have won for India. I tried my best to stop them but their minds were made. They were disturbed and distraught by the way they were treated by Delhi Police,” the wrestler cited above said.
Tuesday was not the first time the wrestlers had thought of doing away with their medals. Earlier this month, after a late-night scuffle with Delhi Police at Jantar Mantar, Punia spoke about his desire to return his international medals and national honours. All three premier wrestlers are the recipients of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, India’s highest sports honour. Malik and Punia have also been conferred the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award.
Meanwhile, former cricket legend Anil Kumble came out in support of the wrestlers on Tuesday, saying he was “dismayed” by how they were being treated. Kumble joins several athletes, including Olympic gold medallists Abhinav Bindra and Neeraj Chopra, who have spoken out in their support.
