Vinesh shares letter seeking additional time and not exemption from Asiad trials
“Hence it is a request to you that trials must be held for these wrestlers after August 10, 2023,” the letter, signed by all six wrestlers mentioned, added.
Vinesh Phogat
NEW DELHI: Vinesh Phogat on Sunday posted an undated letter on social media to prove that the six protesting wrestlers did not demand exemption from the Asian Games trials and that they sought time till August for preparation.
Vinesh shared a picture of the letter, which mentions six wrestlers including herself requesting for extra time for training ahead of the selection. The protesting wrestlers were asked to compete in one-bout trials by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) ad-hoc panel, a move that was criticised by several established and upcoming wrestlers as they demanded fair selection for everyone.
Vinesh, though, did not say if the protesting wrestlers were willing to appear for the entire selection process. “It is requested to you that due to their participation in the wrestlers’ protest, the below mentioned wrestlers need some additional time to prepare for the trials for the Asian Games and the World Championships,” the letter, addressed to Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, read.
The request was made for protesting wrestlers Bajrang Punia (65kg), Sakshi Malik (62kg), her husband Satyawart Kadian (97kg), Sangeeta Phogat (57kg), Jitender Kumar (86kg) and Vinesh (53kg). “Hence it is a request to you that trials must be held for these wrestlers after August 10, 2023,” the letter, signed by all six wrestlers mentioned, added.
Along with the letter, Vinesh wrote on her Twitter page: “The protesting wrestlers had only requested to postpone the date of the trials, since due to our participation in the protests for the last six months, we did not get enough time for practice. We understand that this is a serious matter, which is why we are sharing this letter with you. The enemy is trying to break the unity among the wrestlers, we cannot let them have success.”
It has been learnt that coaches Gian Singh and Ashok Garg, who were added to the IOA ad-hoc panel, had sought exemption for the six wrestlers. The IOA is supposed to give ‘entries by name’ to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) of all the India squads by July 15.
The IOA approached the OCA for deadline extension, but the latter is yet to respond to the request.