NEW DELHI
\nTriple Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat, one of India\u2019s most decorated women wrestlers, has accused her federation chief and several coaches of sexually harassing multiple athletes.
\nPhogat made the allegations at a public protest in New Delhi on Wednesday, backed by several other top wrestlers, male and female.
\nBrij Bhushan Sharan Singh, president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) (who is also an MP for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party) and trainers were culpable, she told reporters.
\n\u201cWomen wrestlers have been sexually harassed at national camps by coaches and also the WFI president,\u201d she told reporters. \u201cI know at least 10-20 girls in the national camp who have come and told me their stories.\u201d
\nThe allegations come months after the coach of the country\u2019s national cycling team was sacked following sexual harassment charges.
\nIndia is a deeply hierarchical society and Phogat said many wrestlers were intimidated from coming forward because of their humble origins.
\n\u201cThey are scared because of their family background. They can\u2019t fight them because they are powerful.
\n\u201cWrestling is our only livelihood and they are not letting us do it. Our only option is to die. So might as well do good before dying,\u201d she added.
\nShe did not state that she was a victim herself.
\nFellow wrestler and Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, who was also part of the protest, endorsed the allegations.
\n\u201cAthletes work hard to win medals for the country, but the federation has done nothing but let us down,\u201d she tweeted.
\nAccording to local media reports, Singh denied the allegations, saying he was \u201cready to be hanged\u201d if even a single woman wrestler proved the sexual harassment charge.
\nIndia\u2019s sports ministry has asked the federation to respond to the allegations within 72 hours, reports said.
\nTokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, who is male and also joined the protest, accused Singh of running the federation in a high-handed manner.
\n\u201cThe job of the federation is to support the players, take care of their sporting needs. If there is a problem, it has to be solved,\u201d he tweeted.
\n\u201cBut what if the federation itself creates the problem? Now we have to fight, we will not back down.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI Triple Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat, one of India\u2019s most decorated women wrestlers, has accused her federation chief and several coaches of sexually harassing multiple athletes. Phogat made the allegations at a public protest in New Delhi on Wednesday, backed by several other top wrestlers, male and female. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-308755","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n