Wrestlers seek to expand support base, protest completes 32 days

A day after their candlelight vigil at India Gate, the protesting wrestlers sought to expand their support base with Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik and her wrestler husband Satyavrat visiting Fatehabad district in Haryana to attend a khap panchayat. “The idea is to garner as much support as possible ahead of Sunday's Mahapanchayat as possible,” a wrestler at the Jantar Mantar sit-in said.

The wrestlers have announced they will attend a Mahila Mahapanchayat planned on May 28 in front of the new parliament building on the day of its inauguration to draw attention to their long-drawn protest demanding the arrest of the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. He is facing two FIRs on sexual harassment complaints by seven wrestlers, including a minor. A decision on the future course of the protest is expected to be taken at the Mahapanchayat.

Malik and Satyavrat also met Singh Sahib Giani Harpreet Singh from Akaal Takht Sahib. Wrestlers' recent visits follow their youth outreach that has seen them visit Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University campuses this week.

On Thursday, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat -- she was under the weather on Wednesday -- will attend a panchayat in Jind, Haryana to draw more support for their protest that has now completed 32 days.

Wrestling trials

The trials for the Asian Games and World Championships will be held in the third week of June with the final date to be announced soon by the ad hoc panel running the federation (WFI).

The panel met union sports ministry officials on Monday where WFI's Annual Training and Competition Calendar (ACTC) was cleared. Indian teams will participate in U-17, U-23 Asian Championships in Bishkek from June 10-18.

“The team will return on June 19 after which the trials will be held,” an official familiar with the plans said.

The World Championships in Serbia (Sept 16-24) and the Asian Games (Sept 23- Oct 8) are bunched closely. The winner of the trials will be selected for both events as the world meet is also a Paris Olympics qualifying event. Only if a wrestler chooses not to go to one tournament will a second wrestler be given an opportunity, said a national coach.

The senior national camps, not held since the Asian Championships in April, will begin after the trials. India will also participate in a ranking series in Budapest (July 13-16).

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