A few hours after Vinesh Phogat took a dig at the cricketers for their silence on the issue of the protesting wrestlers, the Indian cricket fraternity has come out in strong support of the protesting wrestlers in the Me-Too Saga as they are protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Three months after they ended their protest, top Indian wrestlers, which include Olympic medalists, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, along with the Commonwealth Games champion Vinesh Phogat, have started the again against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Singh, who faces allegations of sexual misconduct from female wrestlers.
The Delhi Police have yet to file an FIR in the matter, while the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has not completed its investigation on the issue. The government-formed oversight committee has yet to make its findings public either.
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On Friday (April 28), plenty of retired Indian cricketers, including 1983 World Cup winning skipper, Kapil Dev, came out in support of the wrestlers. ‘Will They Ever Get Justice,’ wrote Kapil on Instagram. Former India spinner Harbhajan and former Indian fast bowler, Irfan Pathan also showed solidarity with the wrestlers. Legendary Indian opening batter Virender Sehwag also did not shy away from giving his full support to the wrestlers and asking for justice.
बहुत दुःख की बात है की हमारे champions जिन्होंने देश का बड़ा नाम किया है , झंडा लहराया है , हम सबको इतनी ख़ुशियाँ दी हैं, उन्हें आज सड़क पर आना पड़ा है।
बड़ा संवेदनशील मामला है और इसकी निष्पक्ष जाँच होनी चाहिए। उम्मीद है खिलाड़ियों को न्याय मिलेगा। pic.twitter.com/A8KXqxbKZ4— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 28, 2023
Indian athletes are always our pride not only when they get medals for us…
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 28, 2023
Sakshi, Vinesh are India's pride. I am pained as a sportsperson to find pride of our country coming out to protest on the streets. I pray that they get justice.#IStandWithWrestlers pic.twitter.com/hwD9dKSFNv
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 28, 2023
On Thursday (April 27), Vinesh Phogat asked the cricketers to show form support and recalled how they had supported the Black Lives Matter (BLM) issue by taking a knee at the 2021 T20 World Cup.
As per the quotes in Indian Express, Vinesh Phogat said, “The entire country worships cricket but not even a single cricketer has spoken up. We aren’t saying that you speak in our favor, but at least put up a neutral message and say there should be justice for whichever party. This is what pains me… Be it cricketers, badminton players, athletics, boxing…It’s not like we don’t have big athletes in our country. There are cricketers… During the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, they showed their support.”
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He further added, “But we don’t know what they are afraid of. I understand that they may be concerned that this could affect their sponsorship and brand endorsement deals. Maybe that’s why they are afraid to associate themselves with athletes who are protesting. You do come forward to congratulate us when we win something. Even the cricketer’s tweet when that happens. What has happened now? Are you so afraid of the system? Or maybe there’s something fishy going on there too?”
Alongside cricketers, India’s only two individual Olympic gold medalists, Abhinav Bindra and Neeraj Chopra along with tennis legend Sania Mirza, also showed solidarity with wrestlers.
