Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia to hold press conference on Thursday in Delhi

Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, wrestlers who led the protests against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, have announced that they will be holding a press conference on Thursday at Delhi’s Raj Ghat.

The wrestlers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share that a press conference will be held at Raj Ghat on 10 August.

“Hello everyone Tomorrow at 12:30 pm we are holding a press conference at Raj Ghat in Delhi. Jai Hind,” Vinesh Phogat wrote in her tweet.

However, late in the night, the official X account of DCP Central Delhi announced that Section 144 has been imposed in Rajghat.

“In view of Independence Day celebrations, Section 144 CrPC has been invoked in areas nearby Rajghat, ITO, Red-fort etc. No gathering of any kind is permitted in these areas,” DCP Central Delhi posted on X.

The wrestlers’ decision to hold a press conference comes amid the controversy of Vinesh and Bajrang receiving direct entry into the Asian Games. While trials were held for all other categories, Vinesh (53kg freestyle) and Bajrang (65kg freestyle) were offered exemptions by the ad hoc committee running the WFI on the basis of the selection policy of the federation which has a provision to provide exemptions to ‘iconic players’.

Bajrang won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and last year’s World Championship. Vinesh also won bronze at the 2022 Worlds.

The exemptions to Vinesh and Bajrang did not go down well with junior wrestlers who questioned the decision. Junior world champion Antim Panghal and U23 Asian medallist Sujeet Kalkal also moved Delhi high court against the exemption but their petition was dismissed.

After the Delhi HC’s verdict, Vinesh and Bajrang broke their silence on the controversy in a Facebook LIVE and said that they are not running away from trials.

“We are not against the trials. I am not blaming Antim. She is too young to understand. She is right in her place. She is fighting for her right and we are fighting for our right. But we are not wrong,” Vinesh said.