Exposing dark underbelly of Indian sports
Top wrestlers protesting sexual harassment highlights exploitation of women athletes in federations run by male politicians
It was an unprecedented sight: India’s top wrestlers, who have won medals at world championships and the Olympics, protesting on the streets of New Delhi — the national capital, demanding the resignation of the powerful wrestling federation chief over sexual harassment allegations. Their sustained protest worked, and on Friday, Brij Bhushan Singh, also a Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Uttar Pradesh, had to step down as the government set up a committee to probe the accusations.
The three-day sit-in protest was led by world championship medallists Vinesh Phogat, Deepak Punia and Olympics podium finishers Ravi Dahiya, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik. Phogat tearfully described thoughts of taking her own life. It takes great courage to speak up about sexual abuse, and the wrestlers showed just that by going public with years of alleged harassment at the hands of Singh and his allies.
The controversy exposes the murky underbelly of Indian sports, where athletes are caught in a system dominated by politicians and men, which makes it difficult for women to speak out. These athletes have braved the odds to train hard, with little financial or institutional backing, and won Olympic medals. That makes their story even more heartbreaking.
When the wrestlers first went public with their allegations, I heard the usual refrain on social media — why did they take so long to speak? This is classic victimblaming. Most survivors of sexual abuse are terrified to speak up, especially if the abuser is in a position of power. So yes, it CAN take months and even years to find the courage to speak up or file a complaint, but that does not take away from the seriousness of the crime.
How can an investigation be fair?
It is shameful that, more often than not, the establishment looks the other way. They don’t hesitate to bask in the limelight when these athletes win medals for India on the world stage, but let them down over sexual harassment claims. There is the recent example of a woman coach in Haryana who has levelled serious sexual harassment charges against the state sports minister, but the Haryana government backed him. He has given up the sports portfolio, but remains a minister. How will there be a fair investigation by the police?
Look at the profile of the former wrestling federation chief. The 66-year-old Singh is a six-time Member of Parliament — five times from the BJP and once from the Samajwadi Party. This explains why he has got away with criticism of the Yogi Adityanath government in the past.
In 1990, a 14-year-old tennis player, Ruchika Girhotra, accused then president of the tennis federation and senior Haryana police officer SPS Rathore of sexually abusing her. But the state backed him, and he was even promoted as director general of police. Facing sustained harassment from the police, Ruchika took her own life. When Rathore was punished years later, he only got six months in jail.
We must never allow this to happen again.