Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia has called upon the Sports Ministry to promptly restart wrestling activities in preparation for the upcoming Paris Olympics, emphasizing concerns about the lack of seriousness in the current preparations.
The sport of wrestling has witnessed a prolonged hiatus due to internal conflicts within the fraternity, sparked by protests against former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Despite the recent election of a new Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) committee, led by Sanjay Singh, normalcy is yet to be restored.
“Wrestling activities have come to a standstill for the last several months. Neither has any nationals been held nor have any camps been organized to prepare the players (for Paris Olympics),” expressed Punia on his ‘X’ account.
Punia, a bronze medalist in the 65kg freestyle category at the Tokyo Olympics, stressed the urgency of preparing for the Olympics, which is just seven months away. He pointed out that wrestling has consistently delivered medals in the past four Olympics and urged the Sports Ministry to prioritize the future of the players.
“I request the Sports Ministry to start all wrestling activities as soon as possible so that the future of the players can be saved,” added Punia.
The recent turmoil in wrestling has seen notable actions from other athletes, including Sakshi Malik’s retirement from wrestling and Vinesh Phogat’s decision to return her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award.
