“PT Usha never reached out to us,” says Vinesh Phogat in a reply to the IOA president’s statement about wrestlers tarnishing India’s image

Top Indian wrestlers continue to protest against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as they accuse him of several crimes which also include sexual harassment charges. While the wrestlers seek justice and are waiting for it for more than three months now, decided to resume protest at the Jantar Mantar, Delhi.

However, their decision to protest was not taken too kindly by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha. She felt that the wrestlers are being indisciplined and are also tarnishing India’s image in front of the world.

In her response, ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat has revealed that PT Usha has never reached out to them to hear their concerns. Hence, they were disappointed hearing her say on the matter. “PT Usha is an icon for us but it is heartbreaking listening to her. She never reached out to us, neither she texted us or called. We would like to share our plight with her,” Vinesh told the media.

“We are not sitting on roads, we are sitting on our country’s land and we have every right to do so. If you are so worried about us, please come and see our plight,” the Commonwealth Games champion was stern in her reply.

The Sports Ministry had assembled an Oversight Committee to take up the decisions of the Wrestling Federation and also investigate the matter and submit a report in due time. But Vinesh revealed that the Oversight Committee’s methods were totally flawed.

She highlighted how their known people are acting as victims whereas the real victims are not approached at all. She slammed the IOA for doing nothing in three months and feels that once they started protesting again, they started doing some stuff for formality.

“They made their known people as witnesses while real witnesses were not called during the investigation process. We have waited for IOA for the past three months but they did not do anything and now when we are protesting they are doing something for formality,” she added.

Lastly, the wrestler believes in Supreme Court’s judgement and has clearly stated that protests won’t stop until they get justice. “We trust the supreme court and no one else. This is a democratic country and we will not move unless justice is delivered,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, the IOA on the sports ministry’s instruction will form a three-member ad hoc panel to manage the affairs of WFI and also to conduct the fresh elections in 45 days.