iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Luton earn first point through Morris penalty as Crystal Palace and Fulham play out goalless draw
KT APPDOWNLOAD
India: Olympic winners threaten to throw medals in Ganga river amid ongoing wrestlers' protests
The country's star wrestlers like Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat also threatened to go on a hunger strike at India Gate
The ongoing wrestlers' protest in the national capital has taken a new toll, as India's star grapplers Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat have declared they will throw their medals in River Ganga in Haridwar on Tuesday evening.
The wrestlers took to Twitter and shared a post about the chain of events that have unfolded in recent days and the way authorities handled the situation.
The protesting wrestlers said that they will visit Haridwar and throw their medals in the Ganga at 6pm on Tuesday. They added that they would go on a hunger strike at India Gate after throwing their medals.
In their post, the wrestlers said: "You saw everything that happened on May 28, how police treated us and the way they arrested us. We were protesting peacefully; our place has been taken away, and the next day serious cases and FIRs were filed against us.
Have the wrestlers committed [a] crime by demanding justice for the sexual harassment that happened to them? The police and the system are treating us like criminals, while the oppressor is... moving freely. He is even openly talking about changing the POSCO Act."
Several ace grapplers including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik have been protesting against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexual harassment and demanding his arrest.
They also went on to question the fact that female wrestlers had to hide for the entire day. "Yesterday, many of our women wrestlers were hiding in the fields. The system should arrest the oppressor, but it is engaged [with] breaking and intimidating the victims to end their protest," the grapplers said.
They further said that these medals are left with no meaning.
"It is not less than death for us thinking of returning medals, but how can we live compromising our self-respect? We don't need these medals anymore. If we speak against exploitation, they prepare to put us in jail," the wrestlers said.
ALSO READ:
More news from Sports
Abu Dhabi star underlines F2 dominance as battle for silver and bronze goes down to the wire
Tight for second as Faysal Ayoubi and Charles Faulkner prevail on a countback
Nine sports, among them boxing, break dancing and tennis, will serve as Asia qualifiers for next year's Paris Olympics
Ben Shelton, Francisco Cerundolo and Felix Auger-Aliassime all triumphed in their singles matches against Team Europe in Vancouver
Suzann Pettersen inspires European fight back after worst possible start in the biennial, transatlantic team match-play competition
M. S. Kim and S. E. Lim narrowly denied at UAE International Pairs Qualifier at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club
Lahiri in a five-way tie at the top of the leaderboard after round one of the $25 million 54-hole event at Rich Harvest Farms, US.