Amid the Wrestling Federation of India's (WFI) chaos, the government of India has approved the participation of a 55-member Indian wrestling contingent for the Zagreb Open Grand Prix. India's ace wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat are also among the Indian contingent who will be taking part in the marquee event which will be held in Croatia from February 1-5.
The newly formed five-member oversight committee, which will be investigating the charges of sexual harassment levelled against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, selected 12 women, 11 Greco Roman and 13 male freestyle wrestlers for the the Ranking Series-opener.
Olympic medallist Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Anshu Malik and Deepak Punia will also be part of the Indian wrestlers' contingent, a ministry release stated. The release also added that government would bear the entire cost of the wrestlers.
Earlier on Tuesday (January 24), Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, and Sarita Mor, India's top wrestlers, voiced dismay that they were not informed before the Oversight Committee was constituted, despite assurances that they would be. On Monday, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the formation of an oversight committee to investigate sexual harassment charges levelled against the WFI and its president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Mary Kom, a boxing legend and Olympic medalist, will lead the five-member Oversight Committee.
A day after the names of the committee members were announced on Monday (January 23), Olympic medal-winning wrestler Bajrang Punia tweeted that despite the government promising to consult them in the matter, they weren't. Tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, Punia Tweeted: "We were assured that we would be consulted before the Oversight Committee was formed. It is very sad that we were not even consulted before the formation of this committee."
WFI and its president, Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, have been in the limelight after top Indian wrestlers accused Singh of sexual harassment last week and went on strike to demand an investigation. The wrestlers had accused Singh, who is also a BJP MP, of acting like a dictator and sexually harassing junior wrestlers. The wrestlers did not reveal the identity of the athletes who faced sexual harassment.
