Bajrang Punia and Vignesh Phogat: Many junior wrestlers, their parents, and coaches reached the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) headquarters on Thursday, demanding the withdrawal of the exemption granted to Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia from the Asian Games Trials. The junior wrestlers have been demanding a meeting with IOA chief PT Usha and ad-hoc panel chief Bhupender Singh Bajwa.
Wrestlers approach IOA
A new controversy has erupted in the wrestling world after the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) ad-hoc panel exempted the wrestlers in the 65kg weight category (men’s) and 53kg category (women’s), saying the candidates have already been chosen. Junior wrestlers have been protesting saying they can pit the selected grapplers if given a chance. Meanwhile, many wrestlers and their coaches have also moved to the Delhi High Court against WFI’s decision.
Wrestlers slam WFI’s decision
Promising Wrestler Antim Panghal slammed WFI’s, comparing her medal really with Phogat. “Vinesh (Phogat) has been given direct entry for Asian Games despite that she has not practiced for the past one year. I won gold medal in the 2022 Junior World Championship. Even in the Commonwealth Games trial, I had a 3-3 bout with her. Then too, I was cheated. Hum pehelwani chhod dein? All I want is a fair trial. I’m not saying that only I can defeat her, there are many women wrestlers out there who can do so,” Panghal said on Wednesday.
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