In Haryana, hopes of young female wrestlers are pinned on Vinesh Phogat the wrestler who turned into a politician and is now campaigning for a win in assembly elections. They want her to become the sports minister, which, they presume, will create conditions for making wrestling akhadas safer. This optimism comes in the wake of incidences that have disquieted the game, especially after harassment allegations against the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The scandal prompted a flurry of concern among parents as most of them have since withdrawn their daughters from wrestling training for fear of the worst. Prominent wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, and Sakshi Malik have come forward; they led the protests in the national capital to get justice for the wrestlers who have been molested and harassed by prominent people.
After some days of protest wrestling, akhadas across Haryana felt the heat and reduced in participation. Some parents even withdrew their daughters from training, worried that they were at risk. This engaged youth wrestler narrated her ordeal of the protests and the challenges of going back to the wrestling ring. “I missed training for five months for one reason: my parents thought I was in danger.” I had to negotiate with my father to allow me to go back to training, and now, he waits for me during practice,” she added.
The young athlete said that if she could bring Vinesh Phogat, who is currently contesting from the Julana constituency, then she would be in a better position to address the problems young female wrestlers face. Recently, Phogat performed at the 2024 Paris Olympics but missed gold by a whisker as she was disqualified for being a hundred grams overweight.
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