On Friday (22nd December), wrestler Bajrang Punia announced that he was returning his Padma Shri award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was felicitated with India’s fourth-highest civilian award in 2019.
In a statement (archive) released on X (formerly Twitter), Punia wrote, “I couldn’t understand where to go, what to do and how to live. The government and the people gave me so much respect. Should I continue to suffocate under the burden of this respect? In the year 2019, I was awarded the Padma Shri.”
“I was also honoured with the Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award. I was very happy when I received these honours. It seemed that life had been successful. But, today, I am much unhappier than I was happy at the time, and these honours are suffocating me,” he claimed.
मैं अपना पद्मश्री पुरस्कार प्रधानमंत्री जी को वापस लौटा रहा हूँ. कहने के लिए बस मेरा यह पत्र है. यही मेरी स्टेटमेंट है। 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/PYfA9KhUg9
— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) December 22, 2023
“Sports have empowered our women athletes and changed their lives but the situation is such that the women who could have been the brand ambassadors of beti bachao, beti padhao are now leaving the sport. And we, the wrestlers who were ‘awarded’ could not do anything. I can’t live my life as a Padma Shri awardee while our women wrestlers are insulted. Hence I return this award to you,” he concluded.
On Thursday (21st December), wrestler Sakshi Malik announced that she was quitting wrestling. “We protested for 40 days. Many people came from faraway places and supported us through difficulties and criticism. If somebody like Sanjay Singh, who is a business partner and friend of Brij Bhushan Singh is elected as the new president, I am quitting wrestling,” she said.
The much-awaited election of the Wrestling Federation of India concluded on 21 December with Sanjay Singh elected as President. Sanjay Singh defeated former grappler Anita Sheoran in this election.
The ‘rebel’ wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik had supported Anita Sheoran. However, Sanjay Singh won with a decisive majority. It must be mentioned that in August this year, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) was suspended by United World Wrestling (UWW) for failing to hold its elections on time.
