Female Indian grappler and one of the faces of the wrestler agitation on grounds of sexual harassment allegations against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Sakshee Malikkh on Thursday broke down and said that she would quit the sport.
This comes in the wake of Brij Bhushan's close aide Sanjay Singh getting elected as the new president of the WFI, results of which were announced today.
Sakshee Malikkh further thanked people who supported her during her and other wrestlers' protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, whom they accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers.
The Wrestling Federation of India held its elections on Thursday, December 21, following multiple delays earlier in the year. The voting occurred in New Delhi earlier in the day, with the counting starting shortly thereafter.
Sanjay Singh's panel emerged victorious in the WFI election with a lead of 33 votes over the opposing panel.
"National Camps (for wrestling) will be organised. Wrestlers who want to do politics can do politics, those who want to do wrestling will do wrestling," Singh told the reporters.
Sanjay was a member of the WFI's former executive council. Additionally, he has been fulfilling the role of joint secretary for the national federation since 2019.
The WFI elections, which were initially scheduled for August 12, faced a delay as the Punjab and Haryana High Court extended the stay on the elections until September 25 during a hearing on a petition in August. The elections for the federation, responsible for overseeing wrestling in the country, were originally intended to take place in June of this year.
Earlier this month, Bajrang Punia and Sakshee Malik visited the residence of Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in the national capital to discuss the WFI polls.
Sakshee's spouse, Satyawart Kadian, who is a wrestler, was one of the individuals who met with the minister. Following the meeting, the wrestlers stated to the press that they were guaranteed the government's commitment to ensuring that no one with ties to Brij Bhushan would be appointed to a position within the WFI.
After the release of the results, a press conference will be conducted by prominent wrestlers and Olympic medalists Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and Sakshee Malikkh. They had previously spoken out against the ousted WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, alleging him of sexual harassment.
