Protesting wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia are going through criticism from members of the wrestling fraternity’s wrath for accepting exemption from the Asian Games trials.
Facing the wrestling fraternity’s wrath for accepting exemption from the Asian Games trials, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia on Monday mentioned they’re damage that younger wrestlers dragged them to the court docket however are on the identical time delighted to see the junior grapplers beginning to struggle for his or her rights.
The IOA ad-hoc panel carried out trials in all 18 classes for the Hangzhou Games however determined to offer direct entries to Bajrang (65kg) and Vinesh (53kg), triggering offended reactions from many within the wrestling fraternity.
Junior wrestlers Antim Panghal and Sujeet Kalkal approached the Delhi High Court, interesting that the exemption be put aside however their petition was dismissed. Both Bajrang and Vinesh, who’re overseas at completely different areas for coaching, got here dwell on social media to reply to the allegations and up to date developments.
“We are not against the trials. I can’t blame Antim. She is not wrong. She is fighting for her right and we are fighting for our right. She is too young, she does not understand. But we are not wrong,” Vinesh mentioned.
“We fought against the system, against the powerful. We took blows on our heads, no one came forward (then). She says she was cheated, but did I cheat (during CWG trials)? If at all it was done, it was done by Brij Bhushan, or got it done. My job was to wrestle, and I did that.”
“If she felt cheated then she ought to have gone to court docket at the moment. It hurts. But I’m glad the children have began talking, they’re gathering braveness now. It’s optimistic for wrestling,” said Vinesh, the two-time World Championship medallist.
Bajrang said they wanted to speak on the issue only after the trials and after the decision of the Delhi High Court order on the petition.
“It was mentioned that there are 3-4 wrestlers who can beat Vinesh however pricey Antim, Vinesh has not misplaced (as but), and won’t lose.
“Antim, you said you became the first Indian to win the U-20 championship but Vinesh is also the only woman wrestler to have won two Worlds medals. You filed a court case against us?,” he mentioned. Vinesh mentioned they don’t worry trials.
“We have given 20 years to wrestling. She says I have not practised but I was at the protest site. We are still hungry. We put everything at stake when we were at the peak of our career.”
“The effort that they’ve put in getting these trials accomplished, if that a lot that they had accomplished at dharna, Brij Bhushan wouldn’t have been outdoors at the moment and all of us would have been wrestling.
“We did not run away from trials, we just wanted enough time to train. Take our trials, we have not run away from the country. Someone wins and someone loses but we can’t be given even one-month time to train?,” she mentioned. Vinesh additionally asserted that she shouldn’t be going to stop like this.
“It’s been 20 years since I’ve been on this sport. Twice I’ve returned from the Olympics and not using a medal. My mom and I’ve dreamt of profitable on the Olympics. Why ought to I stop?”
“The youngsters are being misled. If they say we have done nothing, it’s wrong. It hurts. We also made contributions by winning medals but the sport is being destroyed. People who call themselves the God of wrestling do not know how to respect women,” she mentioned.
Bajrang mentioned they will not problem clarifications once in a while. “The whole wrestling fraternity can sit together. You answer our questions and we will answer yours. If we are proved wrong, we will quit wrestling.”
They additionally lambasted London Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt for siding with outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who they’ve accused of sexually exploiting girls wrestlers.
