Future generations should be coached by wrestlers like Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, according to the Sports Minister. In a moving speech, Sakshi Malik gave up wrestling and Bajrang Punia placed his Padma Shri on the Kartavya Path. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur declined to comment on the raging dispute on Saturday regarding wrestler Bajrang Punia returning his award in opposition to Sanjay Singh-a supporter of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh-becoming the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president.
Olympian Punia went to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday at the Kartavya Path in New Delhi to deliver a protest letter, but police were blocking the Padma Shri medallion on a footpath. I have said enough for now. At the SAI center, during an event honoring renowned athletes and medal winners from the Asian Games, Thakur declared that he would make no more remarks. At SAI, Thakur also opened a synthetic athletic track and new dorms. Nonetheless, Thakur urged previous winners to step up and support the aspiring athletes in order to help them establish themselves in international competitions.
I had asked them if they thought they would be able to break the 100-medal mark before they left (for Asian Games) and they gave me their collective confidence. They also did it. The Minister then requested assistance from the previous winners in order to maintain their success in upcoming contests.
Several significant events have been won by us. In addition to winning the inaugural Thomas Cup, we had a great year in hockey, athletics and other events. In order to improve this effort going forward, the champions now need to make sure that they impart their knowledge and expertise to the up-and-coming athletes.
One of the leaders of the month-long demonstration against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Sakshi Malik, claimed that the former president’s camp had already falsely accused a few of the female wrestlers who had voiced their complaints to the influential administration of doping. She also claimed that the newly elected WFI body will be influenced by the former president.
At a tearful news conference in New Delhi following Sanjay Singh’s election as the new WFI president, Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from professional wrestling, stating that she would not wrestle as long as Brij Bhushan’s close associates held positions of authority within the federation. The Rio Olympics medalist couldn’t contain her emotions as she announced the end of her illustrious career by placing her shoes on the table.
Sakshi stated that she gave her decision to retire careful thought and she would not change her mind as long as Sanjay Singh is the WFI President. Sanjay Singh, a devoted follower of Brij Bhushan, triumphed, obtaining 40 out of 47 votes. In the contest for the president’s position, Sanjay, the vice -president of the Uttar Pradesh wrestling organization, triumphed over Anita Sheron, a former gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games.
Since I only made the decision to stop wrestling, it’s a sad time for me. Wrestling gave us so much; I am here today because of the support of the people in this country and the medals I won; however, I made the decision to give up, said Sakshi Malik.
