• Source:JND
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Asian Games and Commonwealth Games Gold medallist Vinesh Phogat on Saturday left her Arjuna and Khel Ratna awards on the pavement of Kartavya Path in New Delhi. This comes days after she wrote a letter to PM Modi, promising to return her awards as a mark of protest against the treatment of female wrestlers in the country. 

Wrestler Bajrang Punia shared the video on X, formerly Twitter and wrote, “May this day not come in the life of any player. The women wrestlers of the country are going through the worst phase.”

This comes after Vinesh Phogat on Tuesday wrote an open letter to PM Modi, expressing her disappointment over the turn of events and election of Sanjay Singh as new WFI chief, who is a close aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexually harassing female grapplers.

In her letter to the prime minister, she also expressed unhappiness with the treatment of women wrestlers in the country despite their protests against ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Vinesh Phogat reportedly attempted to leave her awards outside the prime minister’s residence, however, she was stopped by the police at Kartavya Path. Following this, she decided to leave her trophies on the pavement of Kartavya Path. 

After Vinesh Phogat left her awards on the pavement of Kartavya Path in the national capital, Congress called it a ‘shameful day for the country’. “After wrestler Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, the daughter who won medals for the country, has kept her Khel Ratna and Arjun Award outside the Prime Minister's Office. PM Modi and his government tortured them to such an extent that today they are forced to take this step. Shameful!” the grand old party wrote on X. 

Wrestler Bajrang Punia had also returned his Padma Shri Award, leaving it on the Kartavya Path pavement as a mark of protest. Earlier Sakshi Malik also announced retirement from sports after Brij Bhushan’s loyalist Sanjay Singh was elected as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief winning 13 of the 15 positions.

However, the wrestling body was suspended by the sports ministry on Sunday for making the hasty announcement of organising U-15 and U-20 nationals without following due procedures.