Updated on Dec 22, at 9.40 p.m.

Bajrang Punia, after announcing the return of his Padma Shri Award at 4.45 p.m. through X, kept the award near the footpath outside prime minister Narendra Modi’s residence.

Punia decided to take this step following the appointment of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s aide Sanjay Singh as WFI chief on Dec 21.

Today evening, Bajrang headed toward PM’s residence where he was stopped by the Delhi Police outside the Kartavya Path. Punia as a mark of protest kept the Padma Shri Award on the footpath and left the place.

“I will give the Padma Shri award to anyone who will take it to PM Modi,” he said to Delhi Police.

Updated on Dec 22, at 6.20 p.m.

A day after teary-eyed Sakshi Malik announced that she was quitting the sport, Bajrang wrote a letter to PM Modi, expressing his disappointment following WFI (Wrestling Federation of India) polls.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Bajrang Punia today decided to return the Padma Shri award to prime minister Narendra Modi as a protest after Brij Bhushan Singh’s close aide Sanjay Singh was elected as the president of WFI. 

In a letter posted on X, Punia addressed the prime minister and outlined the reasons behind his decision of returning the prestigious award.

The wrestling body row, which had been simmering for a while, reached a tipping point for the athlete. Discontent with the management and administration of the sport he loved, Punia felt compelled to take a stand.

“The government and the people gave so much respect. Should I continue to suffocate under the burden of this respect? In the year 2019, I was awarded Padma Shri. Also honoured with Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award. I was very happy when I received this honour. It seemed that life had been successful. But today I am more unhappy than that and these honours are hurting me. There is only one reason, in wrestling for which we get this honour, our fellow women wrestlers have to give up wrestling for their safety,” wrote Bajrang Punia in a letter.

“We “respectable” wrestlers could not do anything. I will not be able to live my life as “respectable” after insulting female wrestlers. Such a life will torment me all my life. That's why I am returning this “honour” to you,” the letter read.

Soon after the election results were announced, Brij Bhushan, unfazed by the allegations against him, proclaimed the victory as a triumph for the country's wrestlers.

He expressed hope that the wrestling activities, halted for 11 months during the protests, would now resume under the new leadership.

“A message has been given. Every akhaada (wrestling academy) in the country is bursting firecrackers. Dabdabaa tha, dabdabaa rahega! I want to give the credit of victory to the wrestlers of the country and the electors. I want to thank the government as well. The elections were done on the instructions of the Supreme Court... the Centre went ahead to make sure elections happened and a non-partisan person was chosen as president,” Brij Bhushan said.

“This ‘grahan’ (eclipse) of 11 months of wrestling is over. Within 10 days, the landscape of wrestling will change again and we will perform in the Olympics the way people want us to,” he added.

Updated on Dec 21, 8.46 p.m.

Almost half a year ago, the holy waters of Ganges were set to absorb the hard-earned medals of the country’s top wrestlers-turned-protestors for demanding justice, had they not been detained by the authorities just before the act.

In between the melee of protests, and detentions of wrestlers, the ray of hope for the protestors seemed fading, eventually leading to calling off the protests in June this year.

As Sanjay Singh, a close aide of deposed WFI (Wrestling Federation of India) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, was elected as the new president today, a number of wrestlers expressed their disappointment.

Followed by the announcement of the new WFI president, the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik announced quitting wrestling.

In a press conference today in New Delhi, an emotional Malik said, “I am dejected and I will not be competing in wrestling anymore.”

“In the end, we slept for 40 days on the roads but I’d like to thank the several people of our country who came to support us during the protests earlier this year. If Brij Bhushan Singh’s business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling…”  Malik told the media.

Malik removed her shoes and put them on the platform before leaving the press conference in tears.

The electoral battle saw Singh defeating Commonwealth Games gold medalist wrestler Anita Sheoran by a substantial margin, with a vote tally of 40-7.

Voting took place earlier today following a lengthy legal tussle as the federation remains suspended by the international federation United World Wrestling.

The elections were held for 15 posts, including the president, treasurer, secretary-general, and senior vice-president.

The newly elected WFI chief promptly addressed the ongoing issues in the Indian wrestling community, targeting top wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat, who were at the forefront of a protest against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan earlier this year.

The journey till here

Top wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat had protested against ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan and had levelled grave accusations against the multiple-time Member of Parliament, including allegations of sexual assault.

Punia and Malik, both prominent figures in Indian wrestling, had reportedly sought the intervention of union sports minister Anurag Thakur. They had recently met the sports minister seeking ways to prevent Brij Bhushan’s aide from contesting for president but to no avail.

With the conclusion of the elections for the office bearers in WFI, a path has been paved for United World Wrestling (UWW), the global governing body for wrestling, to lift the suspension imposed on WFI.

The suspension was a result of WFI’s failure to conduct elections within the deadline set by UWW in August. Consequently, Indian wrestlers had been compelled to compete as neutral athletes in global events over the preceding months.

(With inputs from IANS) 

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