PANAJI
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P T Usha on Wednesday sought to brush aside questions on the ongoing agitation by the country's top women wrestlers seeking criminal action against Wrestling Federation of India president, Brij Bhushan Singh for sexual exploitation and intimidation, saying they (athletes) did not approach the IOA.
"They haven't approached us (IOA). We have an 'Athlete's Commission'. They should have approached us," Usha herself an iconic track and field athlete of yesteryears, said.
"The government is taking some steps. Let the process follow. We will see what we have to do after that," Usha said to specific queries at the press conference she was part of where Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced the hosting of the National Games in Goa in October.
Usha, who is a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha and was recently elected the president of IOA, however, refused to take any further questions on the issue which has dominated sports news over the last few days and has reached adjudication in the Supreme Court of India.
The WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh is an influential politician belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and an MP from Haryana. He has escaped any action for several months following allegations of sexual exploitation and intimidation made against him formally by at least eight women wrestlers, including a minor, who have excelled at the international level.
There are several Olympic medallists among the wrestlers sitting on a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, including top male grappler Bajrang Punia. Vinesh Phogat, the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold at both Commonwealth Games and Asian Games is another leading light of the agitation.
Seven of the complainant athletes had also formally moved the Supreme Court of India with their demand for action against Singh. Taking cognisance of the seriousness, a bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has fixed a hearing on Friday.
