The 2016 Rio Olympics medallist Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik, who quit the sport a few months ago, made an explosive claim, alleging former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment.
In her autobiography `Witness’, unfolding some of the most heart wrenching chapters of her career in her memoir, the wrestler spoke of an incident from the 2012 Asian Junior Championship in Almaty (Kazakhstan) where the then wrestling body chief, Brij Bhushan, tried to harass her in his hotel room sexually.
She said that she was sent to Brij Bushan’s hotel room on the pretext of speaking to her parents on the phone. But, what happened later became one of the most traumatic incidents of her life.
“Singh connected me to my parents. It seemed harmless. When I spoke to them telling them about my match and my medal, I remember thinking that perhaps nothing unsavoury might happen after all. But right after I ended the call, he tried to molest me while I was seated on his bed. I pushed him off and started to cry.”
Sakshi further alleged, “He stepped back after that. I think he realised that I wasn’t going to go along with what he wanted. He started saying that he had put his arms around me ‘papa jaise’ (as a father would). But I knew that was not what it was. I ran out of his room all the way back to mine, weeping.”
Sakshi Malik also made a sensational allegation against wrestler-turned-politician Babita Phogat that she wanted to become the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) by replacing then wrestling body head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
“In hindsight, while I know that ending Singh’s reign was the primary goal for Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, I made the mistake of thinking that that was Babita’s sole intention too,” she added. “She (Babita) didn’t just want to just get rid of Singh, she also wanted to replace him,” Sakshi said.
Sakshi, who was one of the three prominent faces of the prolonged protest against Singh over the alleged sexual harassment case, said their protest developed cracks when “people close to” Bajrang and Vinesh began to fill their minds with “greed”.
Sakshi also alleged that former wrestler Babita Phogat, who is now a BJP politician, had selfish motives even though she portrayed herself as a well-wisher for the protesting trio. The three had alleged that Sharan Singh, the former head of the Wrestling Federation of India, sexually harassed women wrestlers during his tenure. The case is still being heard in a Delhi court.