Ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan accuses Vinesh Phogat of cheating, cites God's punishment

Former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has accused wrestler Vinesh Phogat of cheating to attend the Olympic games, claiming that she could not win a medal because God punished her.

The former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president said, “I want to ask Vinesh Phogat whether a player can give trials in two weight categories in one day? Can the trials be paused for five hours after the weigh-in?... You did not win the wrestling; you went there by cheating. God has punished you for it."

Singh's comments came a day after Congress named Phogat as the candidate for the Haryana Assembly election from Julana.

The BJP leader also alleged that Bajrang Punia participated in the Asian Games without completing the trials.

"Haryana is the crown of India in the field of sports. And they stopped the wrestling activities for almost 2.5 years. Is it not true that Bajrang went to the Asian Games without trials? I want to ask those who are experts in wrestling," Bhushan told news agency ANI.

Phogat and Punia, who were at the forefront of the wrestlers' protest against Brij Bhushan last year, marked their political entry on Friday by joining the Congress. While Phogat was fielded for the polls, Punia was appointed as the working chairman of the All India Kisan Congress.

Continuing his attacks against the wresters, Bhushan further asserted that he is "not guilty of disrespecting daughters" and said, "If anyone is guilty of disrespecting daughters, it is Bajrang and Vinesh. And the one who wrote the script, Bhupinder Hooda, is responsible for that".

Bhushan also mentioned that he will join the campaign for the BJP in Haryana if the party asks. On Friday, he said that any BJP candidate will defeat Phogat in Haryana.

Phogat, after joining the party, had said the BJP was supporting Singh while the Congress supported the protesting wrestlers when they "were being dragged on the roads" in Delhi.

Punia also echoed Phogat, saying that the Congress stood with them during their tough times.

"What the BJP IT Cell is saying today is that we just wanted to do politics. We had written to all women BJP MPs to stand with us but they didn't come. We are paying the price for raising our voices for women but now we know that the BJP stands with atrocities against women at Jantar Mantar and all other parties stand with us," he said.

BJP leaders alleged that the wrestlers' protest was a 'conspiracy' by the Congress to target BJP.