Wrestling: Vinesh Phogat returns Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards in protest
Phogat was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2016 and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2020.
India’s two-time Wrestling World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat on Tuesday, announced her decision to return her Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjuna award.
Phogat, who has been in the forefront of a year-long protest against the former Wrestling Federation of India chief and Bhartiya Janta Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, revealed her decision on X (formerly Twitter).
“Now I want to get away from the shadow of Vinesh, who won all these awards,” Phogat wrote in a statement addressed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I was honoured with Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award, which does not hold any significance in my life now. Every woman wishes to live a respectful life. Hence Prime Minister sir, I want to return my Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award to you so that it does not stand as a burden in our dignified life.”
Phogat’s decision comes just days after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia left his Padma Shri – India’s fourth highest civilian honour – on a footpath outside the Prime Minister’s residence in protest of Sanjay Singh’s election as the new Wrestling Federation of India chief a day earlier.
Just hours after Singh, a close aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, was elected in...