Bajrang Punia urges Sports Ministry to focus on wrestling ahead of 2024 Olympics

Days after the Sports Ministry suspended the Wrestling Federation of India, Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia has urged the central body to restart wrestling activities.

With less than seven months to the Olympic Games, Punia claimed that nobody is taking preparations of the quadrennial event seriously.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Punia wrote, 'Neither have any nationals been held nor have any camps been organised to prepare the players (for Paris Olympics).'

पिछले कई महीना से कुश्ती का कामकाज ठप है. न कोई नेशनल हुआ है और न ही खिलाड़ियों को तैयार करने के लिए कैम्प लगे हैं. 7 महीने बाद ओलंपिक खेल भी हैं लेकिन कोई भी ओलंपिक के लिए गंभीर नहीं दिख रहा जबकि पिछले चार ओलंपिक्स में कुश्ती ने लगातार चार मेडल दिए हैं.
खेल मंत्रालय से निवेदन…

— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) December 30, 2023

He further shed light on the wrestling community's contribution stating that it has given four consecutive medals in the last four Olympics.

Wrestling activities have been at a standstill for nearly a year since grapplers took to protesting against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

A newly-elected WFI committee was also put out of action by the Sports Ministry citing violation of the National Sports Code and the WFI constitution.

Sanjay Singh, a Brij Bhushan loyalist, was elected as President of WFI which did not go down well with the protesting wrestlers.

Hours after his election, Rio medallist Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from wrestling in a teary-eyed press meet.

While Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri and Vinesh Phogat returned her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award in protest.