Legendary Indian Table Tennis star and the vice-chairperson of Indian Olympic Association’s Athletes Commission, Achanta Sharath Kamal has called for justice to be served for the protesting athletes who have put their careers at risk with their fight against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
The protesting wrestlers, including some high-profile names such as Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat have come out to protest against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh alleging sexual harassment.
The protest started in January earlier this year, before a brief halt and then the protest resumed in April and has been raging on ever since.
Sharath Kamal highlighted how the athletes might have risked their medals at the upcoming marquee events such as the Asian Games and the Paris Olympics 2023 but he also expressed his solidarity with the protesting wrestlers.
“The athletes are going through a really tough time. Due to this fight against the federation, they have put their entire career at stake,” Sharath told Scroll.
“For the Paris Olympics, the medal might have slipped away from them. They have taken such a big step, which means this is something they believe that the fight is worth it. As vice-chair of the Athletes Commission, I feel that we as players stand by them in solidarity and hope that justice will be done to the players,” he added.
The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardee also hoped that a swift resolution can be found to the standoff and they return back to training swiftly given the magnitude of the upcoming competitions.
“It’s beyond any of us now – be it the IOA, or Sports Authority of India, the Athletes Commission. It’s up at the judiciary level. It’s up to them to come out and find out what’s happening. I hope (the wrestlers) are shown some light at the end of the tunnel and they can get back to training,” the Table Tennis legend added.
While the wrestlers’ protest has continued, Delhi Police has filed two FIRs against the WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and has refused to step down from his post.
The 40-year-old Kamal also insisted that it will not be easy for the wrestlers to return back to training given the toll of the protests.
“Hopefully, they’ll be there at the Asian Games, but I doubt it because it will be very tough. The mental toll they’ve gone through since January, it’s very tough to come back and just say ‘tomorrow I’ll come back to training and get back on the mat.’ So, the Asian Games is almost gone and I hope Paris doesn’t get away from them,” said the veteran athlete.
“I hope justice is served, and all that we can say is that we stand with them in solidarity. We hope this does not happen to other athletes,” he concluded.
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