CHENNAI: Around eight years ago, Sweety Malik, who was 12 at the time, joined the Asian Public Sports School in Umra, Hisar (Haryana). Like her father, Omprakash Malik, she also wanted to be a wrestler. While her father could not go beyond state-level competitions, Sweety started leaving her mark internationally within three years of joining the sports school. She bagged 40kg bronze in the 2018 Cadets World Championship and then went on to clinch 42kg gold at the U-15 Asian Championship in the same year.
Representing the country in the U-20 Asian Championship last year, Sweety finished second to take home the 50kg silver medal. She pocketed 53kg gold at the Khelo India University Games and 50kg bronze at the National Games this year. Unfortunately, these two events, apart from junior selection trials held months ago, remained only a few competitions wherein she took part in 2023.
Sweety is among hundreds of wrestlers in the country, who have been devoid of competitions in 2023. The unprecedented protest by top wrestlers against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, former president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), began in January bringing the activities to a standstill in the country. As the sport plunged into darkness with protesting wrestlers levelling allegations of sexual harassment against the former WFI president and a BJP MP, the sports started to suffer. The deadlock between the WFI and the wrestlers continued and that led to only a couple of competitions in the year affecting all wrestlers but the up and coming young grapplers bore the brunt.
"It cost us dear. What affected us the most was the lack of competition. The tournaments are the best way to analyse one's progress. The training has been going on unabatedly but I am not aware where I stand at the moment," Sweety told this daily. The wrestler participated in at least 10 tournaments last year including junior national championships, U-23 nationals, Federation Cup and Grand Prix events. Given the situation of wrestling in the country, the National Games in Goa turned out to be one of the few competitions she got this year.
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Wrestling has been earning India at least an Olympic medal since the 2008 Games. Wrestlers won two medals (Ravi Dahiya, 57kg silver and Bajrang Punia, 65kg bronze) at the Tokyo Games and the discipline is one of the few high-priority sports in the country as far as the 2024 Paris Olympics is concerned. Even as Sakshi Malik, the face of the protest, remains the only woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal to date, fresh talents like Anshu Malik, Antim Panghal are rated highly and expected to win laurels in Paris. The ongoing crisis, however, has taken a toll on women's wrestling with a few parents even withdrawing their daughters from the sport.
"It's difficult to give the exact figures but yes a few of my women trainees left the sport forever," Sanjay Malik, wrestling coach at the Asian Public Sports School, told this daily. The exit is not only limited to girls as the strength of boys has also decreased but the percentage is quite high among the girls. "If I talk in percentage, the new joining of girls decreased by at least 25 per cent this year. Apart from this, those already enrolled have decided to quit the sport as there were no competitions. Parents also grew apprehensive after the allegations of sexual harassment," said Malik.
Financial constraints is one of the reasons as surviving without assistance is an uphill task for most wrestlers. "Wrestling is an expensive sport. Being a combat sport, most of the wrestlers hail from modest backgrounds. Prize money from the competitions supports them financially and also provides a pathway for a better future. The participation certificates help them land jobs in government sectors. With hardly any events this year, wrestlers and their parents found it extremely difficult to survive," said the coach.Sweety also admitted that she lost a few colleagues in the last few months. "Around 5-6 girls from my academy quit the sport. I don't know the exact reasons but somewhere the ongoing mess is responsible," she said. The wrestler, who has been competing at the international circuit for the past five years, however, said never had any such unpleasant experience nor her colleagues.
Wrestling coach Sanjay Sihag of Altius Sports Academy, Sisai, Hisar, also echoed the sentiments and informed around half a dozen women trainees from his academy left this year. "Those who compete in the age-group competitions are the worst affected. Most of them have lost a year. Who will compensate them? My academy used to have 20 new trainees every year but that declined drastically. Besides, around 7-8 girls left the academy as their parents got wary," Sihag said.
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It all started in January when prominent wrestlers including Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh Phogat accused Brij Bhushan of sexual harassment. They also got FIRs registered against the Uttar Pradesh strongman. The case is pending in the court at the moment. The allegations meant the government formed an ad-hoc panel to run the sport in the country. After months of uncertainty, the elections to the executive committee of the WFI were held on December 21 with Brij Bhushan's loyalist Sanjay Kumar Singh becoming the president. Out of 15 posts, 13 were won by his faction with two - secretary general and senior vice-president - going to the opposite camp. However, only three days later, the sports ministry instructed the newly-elected body to abstain from functioning and also asked the Indian Olympic Association to form an ad-hoc committee once again.
The absence of the NSF though had little impact on wrestlers' participation in international tournaments including the Asian Games but it certainly has thrown the national calendar in disarray. A source closely associated with the WFI said the federation increased the number of tournaments considerably in the last few years but it cannot conduct events because of the ongoing issue.
“Till 2017, the WFI used to organise only three nationals (senior, junior and cadet). Between 2017 to 2021, the federation increased the number of tournaments to seven or eight by including events like U-23 nationals and traditional wrestling, Last year, more than 20 tournaments were organised by the WFI. Five nationals (U-15, 17, 20, 23 and senior) were organised. Apart from them, 4 ranking tournaments and as many federation cups (all age groups except U-23) were held. Two Grands Prix were held. Three tournaments of beach wrestling, one traditional wrestling competition and other events were held," the source said.
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Asian and Worlds medallists train at Sihag's Academy. Sihag, himself, had competed at the national level before donning the coach's hat. "I am not in favour or against anyone. I only want my wards to get competitions. How long will this continue? Already a year has been wasted. If the government cannot find a solution, it should take control and make sure upcoming wrestlers get the competitions they deserve," the coach said.
Already a year lost, the wrestlers and coaches now want normalcy to return so that they not only get tournaments but also national camps, where they can hone their skills. Having survived the tumultuous period, they, however, fear most of them will have to give up the sport if status quo continues.
