NEW DELHI: Top Indian female wrestler Sakshi Malik announced on Thursday she was quitting in protest after the country’s wrestling federation elected a new president backed by his predecessor, who has been accused of sexually harassing women athletes.

Sakshi had led protests earlier this year against Brij Bhushan Singh, the former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), in a case that drew international headlines and cast a spotlight on the safety of women athletes in India.

Malik, 31, announced her decision to retire from the sport immediately after Sanjay Singh was elected as the WFI’s new president.

Brij Bhushan Singh, who is also a federal lawmaker, was charged in June with sexually harassing six fem­ale wrestlers. He has reje­cted all the charges against him. His case is pending before the trial court.

“If Brij Bhushan Singh’s business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling”, Sakshi told a news conference in New Delhi before leaving the venue with tears in her eyes.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2023