'Sakshi's medal will do to women's wrestling what Sushil's 2008 Olympic medal did to wrestling in general.' 'It will make more and more families put their daughters into wrestling.' 'More and more young girls will fall in love with the sport and demand that they be taken to akhadas.'
A day after a scuffle between agitating wrestlers and police personnel, the police Thursday beefed up security and surveillance at Jantar Mantar and at Delhi borders, deploying additional manpower, bolstering CCTV coverage and raising barricades to prevent the entry of farmers who were coming to support the grapplers.
The rising graph of the country's grapplers seems to be having no positive impact on the proposed Indian Wrestling League (IWL) as it has been postponed once again due to mild response from prospective franchises.
Shoving and pushing ensued between the wrestlers and the police officers.
'Will we face politics even before we go to play for the country because we raised our voice against sexual harassment? Is this the punishment for raising voice against wrong in our country?'
A Delhi court on Thursday granted regular bail to outgoing WFI chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a case of sexual harassment of women wrestlers.
Bajrang Punia criticised Brij Bhushan for his comments on the medal won by the grapplers.
India will go unrepresented in five categories at the upcoming Zagreb Open in Croatia as Bajrang Punia, Antim Panghal and three others didn't give consent for their selection to the ad-hoc panel that announced a 13-member team on Tuesday.
Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal raised a question on Friday as to why the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has not been asked to resign, in the wake allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by female wrestlers.
Three months ago prominent wrestlers came forward to lead a protest against the WFI chief following which the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the formation of an 'oversight committee' to probe allegations against the WFI, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and some coaches.
The protesting wrestlers had also threatened return their medals and awards, including the Padma Shri, to the government after they were allegedly mistreated by the Delhi Police on Wednesday night.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra also attributed the former sportswoman's stand to her Rajya Sabha seat.
'Terrorism and sports can't go along and Pakistan should understand that'
'We will buy coolers if the need arises. It's very hot out there. We had brought Rs two lakh cash with us but have already spent about 5-6 lakh rupees so far.'
During a felicitation function of World Championships medal-winning wrestlers by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi on Monday, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan mooted the idea of making wrestling the national sport, which received the backing of double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar.
Later, authorities can decide whether the complaint is proper or not, Munde told reporters in Maharashtra's Beed district on Wednesday, adding that she expects action to be taken in the present case.
The protesting wrestlers also said that they will oppose holding of competitions if Singh is involved in their organisation.
Dismissing the allegation that he has threatened the sexually harassed wrestlers and their families on behalf of WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, coach Mahavir Prasad Bishnoi said he is ready to be hanged if proved guilty.
Addressing a rally in the Balpur area in Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Singh skipped any direct reference to the wrestlers' protest for his arrest and chose to target the Congress over the Emergency, Ram temple, the 1984 anti-Sikhs riots and other issues.
Sushil Kumar is set to be dropped from the Wrestling Federation of India's annual contracts list.
Vinesh Phogat returned her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award to the government protesting against the election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh-loyalist Sanjay Singh.
Babita, a former wrestler, arrived at the protest site and heard the demands of the grapplers.
'We are confident, we will win the fight for justice.'
The 34-year-old two-time Olympic medallist proved that class is permanent, and that the youngsters still have a long way to go, at least in his weight category -- the men's 74kg freestyle.
Kadian, who competes in heavy-weight category, reiterated that their fight is against the WFI chief and not against the government.
'It is Bajrang Punia's personal decision to return the Padma Shri. The WFI polls were held in fair and democratic manner. We will still try to persuade Bajrang to reverse his decision to return Padma Shri.'
The wrestlers have been protesting for nearly a week demanding action against Singh, also a Bharatiya Janata Party MP, on sexual harassment allegations levelled by seven women players.
Wrestlers' protest take political colour, farmer leaders also support athletes
If a keen tussle for a ticket to Rio Games between double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar and rising star Narsingh Yadav grabbed headlines off the mat, the youngsters showed the sport's bench strength in a country that gave the world the much-touted Pro Wrestling League this year.
The committee advising the wrestlers have set a deadline for the arrest of the WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Protesting wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, were detained by Delhi Police on Sunday after they breached the security cordon while trying to move towards the new Parliament building, where a women's Mahapanchayat was planned for the day.
A bitter court battle, followed by an embarrassing dope scandal, before some redemption through an Olympic medal -- Indian wrestling in 2016 mirrored the script of a Bollywood potboiler in which Sakshi Malik emerged as the new star on the horizon. For most part of the year, wrestling hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, making it a tumultuous Olympic build-up after two-time medallist Sushil Kumar found himself ousted from contention just a couple of months before the Games in Rio. The chain of events that set in ended up disgracing the sport before Sakshi emerged an unlikely saviour in the Brazillian city.
A day after calling off their protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the wrestlers expressed intent to take part in the Asian Games selection trials.
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and his son Karan are not part of the electoral college for the upcoming Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections.
Sushil Kumar later ruled himself out of the running to take Narsingh's spot at Rio.
With Mirabai not in medal contention, weightlifting Worlds set to be an underwhelming affair for India
Yogeshwar asked all the wrestlers to approach IOA and lodge their protest against such unfair decision.
Elite wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who are staging a sit-in protest at Jantar, will not be stopped from competing in the trials for this year's Asian Games.
The Delhi chief minister also asked people to vote in the coming Lok Sabha polls to elect an MP, not the prime minister, saying the MP would "work for you during tough times".
The sports ministry cleared the final contingent that also features 140 support staff and officials, of which 72 "have been approved at cost to the Government" to meet the "requirements" of the travelling sportspersons.
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