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‘Will hang myself if found guilty’: WFI president denies Vinesh Phogat's sexual harassment accusations
The president said that he is ready for an investigation against him and anything of that nature surfaces he's ready to hang himself.
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Sharma denied the sexual harassment allegations labeled against him by country's top wrestler Vinesh Phogat. The president said that he is ready for an investigation against him and anything of that nature surfaces he's ready to hang himself.
“There has been no incident of sexual harassment. If such a thing has happened, then I will hang myself,” Brij Bhushan Sharan Sharma was quoted as saying by ANI.
“Sexual harassment is a big allegation. How can I take action when my own name has been dragged into this? I am ready for an investigation,” he added.
The president stated that the federation was running smoothly for the past ten years and the issues cropped up only after new rules were implemented by the WFI. “Did they have no problems with the Federation for the past ten years? Issues emerge when new rules and regulations are brought in,” he said.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Sharma has been at the helm since 2011. He was elected President of WFI for the third consecutive time in February 2019.
Earlier in the day country's top wrestler Vinesh Phogat had accused the president of sexual harassment.
“Women wrestlers have been sexually harassed at national camps by coaches and also the WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Sharma,” Vinesh Phogat was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
“Some of the coaches appointed at national camps have been sexually harassing women Wrestlers for years. The WFI president is also involved in sexual harassment. Many young women wrestlers have complained and cried about being sexually harassed at national camps,” she added.
India's top wrestler, which also include Bajrang Punia, Sangeeta Phogat, Sonam Malik, Anshu Malik, staged a protest at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday against the federation's way of functioning.
