Wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Tuesday announced through a letter to the Prime Minister that she will be returning her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award, protesting against the election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh-loyalist Sanjay Singh as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president.
In a post on X, she said, "I am returning my Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjun Award. Many thanks to the Almighty for bringing us to this condition"
She along with Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia were the face of the protest against the former WFI chief Brij Bhushan on sexual harassment charges and mismanagement.
Vinesh's decision comes after Sanjay Kumar Singh, a staunch supporter of Brij Bhushan, was elected the WFI president after securing 40 out of 47 votes to beat Anita Sheoran, a former CWG medallist, on Thursday, December 21, 2023.
On the same day, a teary-eyed Sakshi Malik, the lone woman wrestler from the country to win an Olympic medal to date, placed her shoes on the table while announcing her decision to retire from wrestling at the Press Club of India.
Following Malik, the next day, Bajrang Punia wrote a letter to PM Modi returning his Padma Shri award. "I am returning my Padmashree award to the Prime Minister. This is just my letter to announce that. This is my statement," Bajrang Punia tweeted.
However, the Sports Ministry later suspended the newly-elected panel for not following the provisions of its own constitution while making decisions and also asked the IOA to constitute an ad-hoc panel to manage the affairs of the sports body.
In suspending the fresh panel, the government cited its "hasty announcement" of organising the U-15 and U-20 nationals "without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers" for preparations.
(With inputs from PTI)