'Spare 5 Minutes To...': Vinesh Phogat Tells PM Modi She Will Return Arjuna Award, Khel Ratna

Earlier, Sakshi Malik quit her wrestling career and Bajrang Punia was seen walking away after leaving his Padma Shri medal on a pavement in Delhi over Sanjay Singh's elevation as WFI president.

The flurry of returning awards over the election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's aide Sanjay Singh as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India continued on Tuesday as Vinesh Phogat decided to return her Arjuna Award and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna.

"I am returning my Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjun Award. Many thanks to 'those in power' for bringing us to this condition," she said in a sarcastic X post.

In her post, Phogat attached a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the letter, she urged PM Modi to spare five minutes and listen to Brij Bhushan's speeches to understand his views towards women. "He compared us to women... he left no stone unturned to humiliate us," she wrote.

Earlier, Sakshi Malik quit her wrestling career and Bajrang Punia was seen walking away after leaving his Padma Shri medal on a pavement along the Kartavya Path in Delhi over Sanjay Singh's elevation as WFI president.

Vinesh is the first woman wrestler from India to win Gold medals at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. She won the Arjuna Award, the second-highest sports honour in India, in 2016 and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna (the highest sports award in the country) in 2020 for her excellence in wrestling.

Phogat and other top wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Malik had staged protests for several days, demanding a fair investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against BJP MP and former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. However, there has been no action against Brij Bhushan so far and his close aide Sanjay Singh was elected the president of the wrestling body last week.

Immediately after its formation, the newly elected WFI announced the dates for the U-15 and U-20 national championships. However, amid the growing pressure over the election of Sanjay Singh, the Centre suspended the WFI for making a "hasty announcement (on the U-15 and U-20) without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers" for preparation.

Reacting to the suspension, Sanjay Singh said: “We have not flouted rules, we will seek revocation of WFI suspension from the government. If the suspension is not lifted, we can explore legal options to challenge it.”