Crisis in India’s Wrestling Community: SAI Fails to Address Wrestlers’ Demands

The Wrestling Community of India continues to remain in a state of unrest as the Sports Authority of India (SAI) failed to address their demands during the meeting held at Jantar Mantar on Saturday night. The nine-person advisory committee, led by Sandip Pradhan, Director General of SAI, had been invited to discuss various grievances raised by protesters from the wrestling community. However, despite several hours of heated discussions between members of the group and the director general, no resolution or decisions were reached.

Sakshi Malik, an Olympic medalist wrestler and prominent member of the committee shared her disappointment with press after the meeting concluded without any result. She went on to explain that she and other members put forward a list of demands such as the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual harassment.

The scandal regarding the WFI’s president has been gaining attention from wrestling enthusiasts across the country and a few members of Parliament. Several accusations have been made against him, claiming that he actively exploited female wrestlers in exchange for jobs or other opportunities. These allegations were not addressed during the talks at Jantar Mantar, leading to increased frustration among protesters who fear that nothing will be done to rectify the situation.

The WFI’s president also faced criticism from members of his own party after an audio clip was released by an anonymous source which purportedly revealed that Brijbhushan Sharan Singh had been colluding to pressure wrestlers into joining the BJP. This only further added fuel to the fire, with a few senior members of Parliament demanding that an investigation be launched against him.

Despite growing calls for action, it appears that nothing has been done to address the grievances of India’s wrestling community. Sakshi Malik and other members of the advisory committee have called on SAI to reach out to them in order to come up with long-term solutions which will benefit the entire wrestling fraternity. The future of this matter remains uncertain as no concrete steps have been taken thus far by either side.