‘There could be a conspiracy to trap me in doping’: Vinesh Phogat accuses WFI chief for trying to stop her from competing in Olympic qualifiers
Vinesh Phogat on Friday took to social media and accused the current Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Sanjay Singh for conspiring against her and trying to stop her from competing in the Olympic qualifiers.
“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 wrote on ‘X.’
“If I say that there could be a conspiracy to trap me in doping, then it will not be wrong.
“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.
19th अप्रैल को एशियन ओलम्पिक क्वालीफाई टूर्नामेंट शुरू होने जा रहा है। मेरे द्वारा लगातार एक महीने से भारत सरकार (SAI,TOPS) सभी से मेरे कोच और फिजियो की ACCREDITATION (मान्यता) के लिए रिक्वेस्ट की जा रही है। ACCREDITATION के बिना मेरे कोच और फिजियो का मेरे साथ कम्पटीशन ARENA में…
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) April 12, 2024
“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 asked.
Vinesh who was one of the three top wrestlers of the country who led a protracted protest against former WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexually harassing women wrestler.
“Will we face politics even before we go to play for the country because we raised our voice against adult harassment? Is this the punishment for raising voice against wrong in our country? “I hope we will get justice before we go to play for the country,” she said.
The 29-year-old Phogat, who won 53kg bronze medals in the 2019 and 2022 World Championships besides a gold in the 2018 Asian Games (in 50kg), would be eyeing an Olympic quota in the 50kg category in the Asian qualifying tournament next week in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
At the selection trials in Patiala, she had also competed in the 53kg category after the authorities allowed her but lost in the semifinals.
