Multiple World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat on Saturday returned her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award, leaving them lying in the middle of the Kartavya Path in Delhi after the police stopped her from reaching the prime minister’s office. A few days ago, the Asian Games gold medallist grappler had said such honours had become meaningless at a time when wrestlers are struggling to get justice.
Phogat had announced her decision in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Saturday, she attempted to reach his office to return the awards but the police prevented her. As a mark of protest, she left the awards on Kartavya Path, which were later picked up by Delhi Police. Phogat, along with Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, had protested against the election of Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who had been accused of sexual harassment by the three well-known grapplers.
Malik had also announced her retirement from wrestling soon after Sanjay Singh’s appointment. However, the sports ministry had later suspended the newly-elected panel for not following the provisions of its own constitution while taking decisions. The ministry also asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an ad-hoc panel to manage the affairs of the sports body, which was formed on December 27.
(With PTI inputs)
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