World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat on April 12 raised concerns about her Olympic Qualifiers participation. She accused the current Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh of conspiring against her and trying to prevent her from participating in the Olympic Qualifiers. The 29-year-old Phogat bagged 53 kg bronze medals in the 2019 and 2022 World Championships. She also created history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in 50 kg. She would be aiming for an Olympic quota in the 50kg category in the Asian qualifying tournament, which is scheduled to begin on April 19 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. However, At the selection trials in Patiala, Vinesh Phogat suffered a disappointing 0-10 loss in the semi-final of the 53kg category.
Ahead of the tournament, Vinesh shared a post on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter) and expressed concerns about being ensnared in a doping case.
"Brij Bhushan and his dummy Sanjay Singh are trying in every way to stop me from playing in the Olympics. All the coaches who have been appointed with the team are the favourites of Brij Bhushan and his team, so it cannot be denied that they may mix something in my water and make me drink it during my match?" Phogat said on her 'X'.
"If I say that there could be a conspiracy to trap me in doping, then it will not be wrong,” she added.
The champion wrestler further claimed that despite repeated requests to the Government of India (SAI, TOPS) for accreditation, no concrete response is being received from anywhere and without accreditation her personal coach and physio can't accompany her for the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament.
"For the past one month, I have been requesting the Government of India (SAI, TOPS) for the accreditation of my coach and physio. Without accreditation, it is not possible for my coach and physio to accompany me to the competition arena," she said.
"But despite repeated requests, I am not getting any concrete answer from anywhere. No one is ready to help. Will the future of players always be played with like this?”
"No stone is being left unturned to mentally harass us. How far is it justified to torture us like this before such an important competition?" she questioned.
She went on to say that she will remain hopeful for justice before representing the nation in the crucial tournament.
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