Sanjay Singh, the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), has linked India’s disappointing performance in wrestling at the Paris Olympics to the recent protests by Indian wrestlers over sexual harassment allegations.
Sanjay Singh attributed the poor performance to the disruptions caused by the 15-16 months of protests, which affected both tournaments and training. He suggested that India could have won an additional six medals if not for these disturbances.
India won one bronze in wrestling at the Paris Olympics.
India managed to secure just one bronze medal in wrestling, won by Aman Sehrawat in the men’s 57kg freestyle category.
Another medal opportunity was missed when Vinesh Phogat, a prominent protester against former WFI president Brij Bhushan, was disqualified from the 50kg women’s freestyle event on the day of her gold medal bout due to exceeding the weight limit by 100 grams.
Singh blamed Vinesh for the disqualification.
Singh also blamed Vinesh Phogat for her disqualification, noting that competing in the 50kg category was her personal choice. Vinesh chose to compete in the 50kg category after Antim Panghal secured the 53kg quota. The WFI had selected the Olympic team based on quota winners rather than trials.
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