WFI president election aftermath: Deaflympics gold medalist Virender Singh says he will return Padma Shri

After Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri in protest of the result of the Wrestling Federation of India election where Sanjay Singh, a close aide of Brij Bhushan Singh, was elected president, deaflympics gold medallist Virender Singh Yadav also followed suit.

“I will also return the Padma Shri for my sister and the country’s daughter. Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, I am proud of your daughter and my sister Sakshi Malikkh,” Virender wrote on X.

“But I would also request the top players of the country to also give their decision… @sachin_rt @Neeraj_chopra1,” he added tagging Sachin Tendulkar and Neeraj Chopra and urging them to also speak out.

On Friday, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Punia said that he was returning the Padma Shri that was conferred on him in 2019.

मैं भी अपनी बहन और देश की बेटी के लिए पदम् श्री लौटा दूँगा, माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी को, मुझे गर्व है आपकी बेटी और अपनी बहन @SakshiMalik पर… जी क्यों…?

पर देश के सबसे उच्च खिलाड़ियों से भी अनुरोध करूँगा वो भी अपना निर्णय दे…@sachin_rt @Neeraj_chopra1 pic.twitter.com/MfVeYdqnkL

— Virender Singh (@GoongaPahalwan) December 22, 2023

Bajrang, who has won multiple medals for India at the World and Asian Championships apart from the Asian Games, was stopped by Delhi Police on Friday evening at Kartavya Path when he tried to walk towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence.

“I will give the Padma Shri award to anyone who will take it to PM Modi,” Bajrang said before he placed the award on the footpath and walked away. The award was later picked up by a policeman.

“We all spent the night in tears,” Bajrang wrote in his letter to the Prime Minister which he shared on X. “We did not understand what to do, or where to go. The government has given us a lot. I was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2019. I also received the Arjuna, Khel Ratna awards. When I got these awards, I was on cloud nine. But today the sadness weighs more… I can’t live my life as a Padma Shri awardee while our women wrestlers are insulted. Hence I return my award to you.”

He also recounted their plight during the protests earlier this year, when the country’s top wrestlers accused Brij Bhushan of intimidation and sexual harassment while demanding his arrest.

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