Wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Friday accused the WFI of attempting to cease her from competing within the Olympic Qualifiers by creating logistical hurdles for her help employees, a cost vehemently denied by the federation which claimed that she utilized after the deadline to ship entries had expired. The 29-year-old Phogat, who gained 53kg bronze medals within the 2019 and 2022 World Championships in addition to a gold within the 2018 Asian Video games (in 50kg), additionally stated she is frightened of being trapped in a doping case.
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) stated Phogat’s request mail (for accreditation of her coach and physio) got here on March 18 however by then it had already despatched the entries of the gamers, coaches and medical employees to the world governing physique UWW because the registration dedaline was March 11. A WFI official stated the federation despatched the entries round March 15 after UWW relaxed the deadline a bit on its request as a result of the trials have been accomplished solely on the final day of the deadline.
Phogat is eyeing an Olympic quota within the 50kg class within the Asian qualifying event subsequent week in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
On the choice trials in Patiala, she had additionally competed within the 53kg class after the authorities allowed her however misplaced within the semifinals.
“Brij Bhushan and his dummy Sanjay Singh are attempting in each method to cease me from taking part in within the Olympics. All of the coaches who’ve been appointed with the group are the favourites of Brij Bhushan and his group, so it can’t be denied that they could combine one thing in my water and make me drink it throughout my match?” Phogat stated in prolonged submit on his ‘X’ web page.
“If I say that there might be a conspiracy to entice me in doping, then it is not going to be fallacious.” Phogat alleged that her private coach and physio have been being denied accreditation for the Asian Olympic qualifying event beginning April 19.
“For the previous one month, I’ve been requesting the Authorities of India (SAI, TOPS) for the accreditation of my coach and physio. With out accreditation, it isn’t attainable for my coach and physio to accompany me to the competitors area,” she stated.
“However regardless of repeated requests, I’m not getting any concrete reply from anyplace. Nobody is able to assist. Will the way forward for gamers at all times be performed with like this? “No stone is being left unturned to mentally harass us. How far is it justified to torture us like this earlier than such an necessary competitors?” she requested.
Making the Federation’s stand clear, a WFI official, who didn’t want to be named, advised PTI that it had no objection if Phogat needs to journey together with her private coach and physio however she herself has to get the accreditation from the UWW for the reason that deadline to ship entries is already over.
“Her e-mail was primarily directed to the ad-hoc panel and the TOPS CEO even because the federation was additionally marked in it. She despatched her request on March 18 however the federation had already registered the help employees by then.
“And, we didn’t get any directive from the Ministry or SAI that Phogat’s coach needs to be added to the listing. We might have tried, if we had any such instruction. In spite of everything, the mail was primarily given to them.
“See, we’re allowed to ship three coaches for 10 gamers. 9 coaches are already in Bishkek for the Asian Championship for 30 wrestlers and the identical set of coaches will likely be there for the Asian Qualifier the place we can have solely 5 girls wrestlers competing. Are three coaches not sufficient for 5 wrestlers? “Why ship additional coaches? But when Vinesh needs her private coach in Bishkek, she will be able to attempt to get it executed from UWW. We now have no objection to that.” A WFI supply added that the boys’s free type wrestler Deepak Punia, who gained a silver medal on the 2019 World Championships had additionally requested for his private coach to journey with him. One request for Greco Roman coach Anil Pandit was additionally acquired.
“That they had additionally despatched related mails however we didn’t have any instruction from the federal government in the event that they must be accommodated. It is not that Vinesh is being singled out. We now have been truthful to all,” stated the official.
Phogat was one of many three prime wrestlers of the nation who led a protracted protest in opposition to former WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexually harassing girls wrestlers.
After a case was filed in opposition to Brij Bhushan by Delhi Police, an area courtroom granted him bail in July.
She questioned if the difficulties she is dealing with now are because of the protest she led alongside Olympic bronze medal winners Bjarnag Punia and Sakshi Malik.
“Will we face politics even earlier than we go to play for the nation as a result of we raised our voice in opposition to sexual harassment? Is that this the punishment for elevating voice in opposition to fallacious in our nation? “I hope we’ll get justice earlier than we go to play for the nation.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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