Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia are among the prominent athletes who are at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar protesting after Phogat alleged that the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had sexually harassed women wrestlers for many years.
Phogat said she had not suffered sexual harassment herself but knew about 20 women who did. WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has denied the allegations.
Amid the shocking allegations, here’s what we know about prominent wrestler Bajrang Punia, sitting as an ally of his women peers.
Bajrang Punia is an Olympic medallist who won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by defeating Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov with 8-0 margin. He has quickly established himself as one of the top freestyle wrestlers in the world.
Born and raised in the small village of Khudan in Haryana, Punia began his wrestling career at a young age. The 28-year-old is the only Indian wrestler to win four medals at the World Wrestling Championships.
In 2018, Punia became the first Indian wrestler in over two decades to win a gold medal at the Asian Games, achieving the feat in Jakarta, Indonesia. He defeated Japan's Takatani Daichi in the final of the 65 kg category.
Bajrang Punia also clinched a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a win over Canada’s Lachlan McNeil.
Punia has also had a successful career on the international stage, winning a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, silver at the 2017 and 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships and bronze at the 2018 Wrestling World Cup. He has also won several medals at various national and international wrestling competitions.
He has been honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2015 and given India’s fourth highest civilian award - Padma Shri - in 2019.
At the protest in Delhi on Thursday, Punia, supporting women wrestlers, said: "We will not compete in any international competition until WFI President is removed.”
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