Vinesh Phogat 'contemplated suicide' after 'tortured by WFI president for missing Olympic medal'

The wreslers are expected to meet with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday, after the first round of talks last night failed to reach a breakthrough.

New Delhi, Jan 20: Vinesh Phogat, mentally harassed and tortured by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh after she missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo, almost contemplated suicide, said a memorandum submitted by the protesting wrestlers to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P T Usha.

The agitating wrestlers demanded the formation of an enquiry committee to probe the allegations of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a day after threatening to lodge multiple FIRs against the WFI chief.

Vinesh Phogat was mentally harassed and tortured by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh after she missed out on an Olympic medal in Tokyo. Following this, she almost contemplated suicide, said a memorandum submitted by the protesting wrestlers to IOA president P T Usha.

Moreover, the protesters alleged financial misappropriation on the part of the Federation.

The coaches and sports sciences staff that the federation president puts in the national camp are "absolutely incompetent."

"They are just his informants and they create a very bad atmosphere in the National camp," the wrestlers claimed.

The protesting wrestlers made it clear that they would not budge until the federation president is sacked.

However, Singh has stuck to his stand to not relinquish the post.

"The protest by wrestlers against me is the dharna of Shaheen Bagh," Singh, who is also a sixth-time Lok Sabha MP from UP's Kaisarganj constituency, told reporters in his native place here. Singh also termed the protest in Delhi's Jantar Mantar an attack on BJP rchestrated by the Congress party.

Earlier speaking to a TV channel, he had said, "The protesting players have become a toy in the hands of Congress and Deepinder Hooda. This type of conspiracy was done against me by Congress almost three decades ago. Once again the conspiracy has been repeated. I had earlier said that there was a conspiracy, and big powers are behind it. Now those forces are coming out in the open."

He added, "The picture becomes more clear with the tweets and statements by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Deepinder Hooda. This attack is not only on me, but on the Bharatiya Janata Party through me."

Singh is scheduled to hold a press conference at Nandini Nagar Stadium in Gonda later in the evening.

Top Indian wrestlers had on Thursday refused to back down from their demand to disband the WFI as they met union sports minister Anurag Thakur.

Celebrated Indian wrestlers, including Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, world championship medallist Vinesh Phogat and others have been staging a sit-in protest for the past two days at Jantar Mantar against the WFI president, accusing him of sexual harassment and intimidation.

The wreslers are expected to meet with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday, after the first round of talks last night failed to reach a breakthrough.