2023 recap: Why did wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia return Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Padma Shri?

On December 21, Olympian Sakshi Malik announced her decision to retire, following Sanjay Singh's election as WFI chief. On December 22, Bajrang Punia tried to return his Padma Shri but had to leave it on Kartavya Path when he was stopped by the police. On December 30, Vinesh Phogat followed suite, laying down her Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards on Kartavya path and walking away. (File image via X)

2023 began with an unexpected, unprecedented, and fiery protest by some of India’s most decorated wrestlers against the then powerful chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, also a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh.

In what became the first #MeToo movement in Indian sports, many female wrestlers came forward to allege that Singh was a serial offender in sexual harassment and molestation incidents dating back decades.

The protests began with a handful of wrestlers—led by Sakshi Malik, India’s only female Olympic medallist in wrestling, fellow Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia and his wife, wrestler Sangeeta Punia, and India’s most successful woman wrestler, the multiple world championship medallist Vinesh Phogat—camping outside the MP residence of Singh in New Delhi, which also doubled as the WFI office.

Then it became the news of the year. Singh dug his heels in and launched counter attacks. The protest spread. The Delhi Police refused to register cases. The protest grew. The Supreme Court stepped in, ordering the police to register a case and start an investigation. Jantar Mantar, the traditional protest site in New Delhi, even saw riot police pitched against the protesters, till one day the police removed the protesters entirely and by force. By that time, the WFI had finally been suspended, a police investigation against Singh was ongoing, and the sports ministry had appointed an ad-hoc committee to oversee fresh elections for the WFI.

As the year ends, this is perhaps what the protesting wrestlers are thinking—so much has happened, so little has changed.

Because, on December 21, when the election results for WFI were announced, what happened was what the wrestlers had predicted would happen. The new ruling body of the WFI was entirely made of people who have been Singh loyalists for the almost two-decade-long period of his presidency, including the new president, Sanjay Singh, one of Singh’s primary business partners.

The post-election celebration was as brazen as it could get—Sanjay Singh garlanded Brij Bhushan Singh outside the latter’s residence, and announced that the upcoming junior and senior national tournaments would be held in Gonda, the UP district which has been ruled by Singh and his family since he first became MP in 1991. As if to bestow benevolence, Singh told reporters that “no action will be taken against the protesting wrestlers”, despite the fact that the Delhi Police has submitted a 1500-page chargesheet alleging sexual harassment and abuse against Singh, and the case is ongoing.

A few hours later, a teary-eyed Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from wrestling. The next day, Bajrang Punia walked with his Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, down Kartavya Path to return it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When he was stopped by the police, he laid the award down on the pavement and left. On December 30, Vinesh Phogat followed suite, laying down her Khel Ratna—India’s highest sporting honour—and Arjuna awards on Kartavya path and walking away.

The year ended the way it began—with some of India’s finest sportspeople protesting against a seemingly immoveable political force, who has spent his entire life being accused of major crimes (murder, attempt to murder, gangster act, illegal arms, terrorism, and now sexual abuse), without a single conviction.

One small difference. Where the government had dragged their feet and/or ignored the wrestlers for months when the protests had begun, this time, the sports ministry moved swiftly to suspend the newly elected WFI citing “blatant disregard for the established legal and procedural norms”.

Yet, it must be asked, why did the government allow it to come to this pass anyway? When the sports ministry had initially suspended Singh and announced new elections, the protesting wrestlers had made the point that Singh will return to rule WFI via his proxies. They raised the issue consistently, at meeting after meeting. Sanjay Singh, whose name was approved by the sports ministry as a candidate in the elections was well known as Singh’s right-hand man. Why, then, was he allowed to contest in the first place?

To be sure, legally and constitutionally, there is no way to bar someone from contesting an election because they are connected to someone else who is banned.

"We have won the elections (of WFI) democratically,” Sanjay Singh told PTI. “The returning officer was the retired chief justice of J&K High Court, there were observers from the IOA and UWW (United World Wrestling). There were 22 state units (three absent out of 25 state associations) taking part in the elections, 47 votes were polled out of which I got 40.

“WFI is an autonomous body and the government has not followed proper procedure. We are going to talk to the government and if it (government) does not take back the suspension, we are taking legal opinion and going to court."

This ties in then with the decades-long struggle to reform the administration of Indian sports, forever mired in nepotism, political interference and influence and corruption. We know the stories—the 2012 suspension of the Indian Olympic Association by the International Olympic Committee for electing members with pending criminal cases, or the 2012 suspension of the Indian boxing federation, which lasted more than four years (which meant four years of no talent development and no national championships!).

A cursory glance at India’s sporting bodies will show administrators who have been in power for decades without showing any results—the late Raj Kumar Khanna served as secretary (1966-74, 1988-92) and president (1992-2000) of the All India Tennis Association, and was succeeded by his son Anil Khanna, who has been secretary and president for over two decades, and is now vice-president, and whose son Aditya is now the treasurer of the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association.

BJP leader VK Malhotra was president of India’s Archery association for four decades till the federation itself was banned in 2012 because Malhotra’s tenure was in violation of the Indian government’s new sports code, which was implemented in 2011. It took eight years before Indian archery could form a new body. The examples can go on, tainting just about every sports federation you can think of.

It was against this entrenched political system of sports administration that the wrestlers were up against. Just like they were up against entrenched notions of patriarchy, shame, and the culture of the political strongman when they decided to make their allegations against Singh public.

In the way they have conducted themselves, the wrestlers have proved one thing without a doubt—no matter what the odds, backing down is not in their nature.