After Olympic bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt criticised the Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) relaxation to six protesting wrestlers, Vinesh Phogat called him "insensitivie" and termed him a "boot-licker" of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Vinesh, one of the six wrestlers provided relaxation, also alleged that Dutt as a member of the two panels looking into the sexual harassment allegations against Singh was not just insensitive to them but was also actively undermining them by leaking their names to the media and Singh and making calls to their homes to pressure them to withdraw from the case.
Since January, wrestlers have been protesting against the then-Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Singh. The police have charged Singh with sexual harassment and stalking. Six protesting wrestlers —Vinesh, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Sangeeta Phogat, Satywart Kadian, Jitender Kinha— have been granted relaxation by IOA for the selection process. Dutt has criticised the relaxation.
What did Yogeshwar Dutt say?
Under IOA's relaxation, the selection process has been reduced to a one-bout competition for these six wrestlers, who will be required to beat just the winners of the trials to seal their places in the Indian teams, according to PTI.
The timing of the trials have also been pushed for these six wrestlers. They would get their one-bout trial in August whereas the rest of wrestlers will have their trials in July.
In a video shared on Twitter, Dutt said these wrestlers have been away from the wrestling mat for around a year and such a relaxation is unfair to a lot of other wrestlers.
"I believe this is not at all good for wrestling. Our junior wrestlers, such as one who got a gold medal recently in under-23 champtionship, and there are several like this...This is a very wrong foundation laid by the ad-hoc committee [of IOA]...Khap panchayats and farmer organisations participating in the protests should attempt to know whether the protest happened against sexual harassment or to get such relaxation," said Dutt in Hindi in the video.
The PTI noted that such a relaxation to six wrestlers, and not just elite wrestlers like Vinesh or Ravi Dahiya, has never been granted before
"Elite wrestlers like Bajrang and Vinesh have been given exemptions by WFI from full trials in the past to protect them from injuries but never ever Sangeeta Phogat, Satyawart Kadian and Jitender Kinha were considered for such a favour...In the previous WFI set up also, top wrestlers like Bajrang, Ravi Dahiya and Vinesh used to get similar exemptions from trials. In the most recent past, Bajrang and Ravi were handed direct semifinal entries into the Commonwealth Games trials," noted PTI.
Vinesh calls Dutt 'boot-licker', 'spineless'
In a Twitter post, Vinesh called Dutt a "boot-licker" and "spineless" and alleged that he was insensitive to women wrestlers as a member of the panel looking into the complaints and pressurised their families to withdraw the case.
Vinesh also claimed that Dutt used to have "cheap laughter" while hearing women wrestlers.
Vinesh also alleged that Dutt leaked the names of women wrestlers to the media and to Singh in an attempt to pressurise them.
"When women wrestlers shared their ordeals with the panel, he used to have a cheap laughter. When two women wrestlers came out to have water, he came out and told them that nothing would happen to Brij Bhushan and that they should go and practice...He called the homes of many women wrestlers and asked them to convince their daughters. He was already openly giving statements against women wrestlers and yet he was put in both the panels," said Vinesh in her post in Hindi.
Vinesh also said that Dutt is a "boot-licker" and is eating left-over from Singh's plate. She also called him "spineless".
She said, "He [Dutt] was stopping both the wrestlers and coaches from participating in the movement. The entire wrestling community understood that Yogeshwar was eating leftovers from Brij Bhushan's plate...Remember, don't use much force so that your back does not break. You have already put your spine at Brij Bhushan's feet. You are a very insensitive human. You are standing on the cruel's side are you are being a sycophant."
