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Sanjay Singh, the WFI chief, said that the wrestlers’ protest was the major reason why India could not win enough medals in Paris Olympics 2024. India had sent a six-member contingent, but it was only Aman Sehrawat, who finished on the podium after he won the bronze medal in the men’s 57kg category. The 21-year-old Sehrawat beat Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz in the third-place playoff.
Singh, who had taken over from Brij Bhushan Singh as the WFI chief last December, said that the wrestlers could not get enough time to prepare for the showpiece event due to the tensions created by the protests that carried on for around a year.
"If you look at it from the other angle, the protests that took place for 14-15 months, the entire wrestling fraternity was disturbed. Let alone one category, the wrestlers in other category struggled as they could not practice without national and international tournaments. Hence, the wrestlers could not perform well,” Sanjay Singh told India Today.
Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik were a part of the protests against Brij Bhushan that started back in January 2023. Last year, Sakshi, India’s only woman with an Olympic medal in wrestling, retired after Sanjay Singh replaced Brij Bhushan at the top.
Vinesh took part in the Olympics in the women's 50kg category, but her fate hangs in the balance as it is still not known if she will win a medal. The 29-year-old had become the first Indian woman to qualify for an OIympic final in wrestling, but she was disqualified after being found 100 grams more than the permissible limit at the weigh-ins. Vinesh, in the meantime, also retired from wrestling amidst the controversy.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is yet to deliver a verdict after Vinesh appealed for her silver medal to be retained. Apart from Vinesh and Aman, the other wrestlers, Anshu Malik (57kg), Reetika Hooda (76kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg) and Antim Panghal (53kg) failed to make an impact.
