Wrestler Vinesh Phogat leaves her Arjuna, Khel Ratna Awards on Kartavya Path pavement

PTC News Desk: Wrestler Vinesh Phogat left her Arjuna and Khel Ratna Awards on the pavement of Kartavya Path in New Delhi on Saturday. This came after she promised to return her awards in protest of the treatment of female wrestlers in the country during the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) controversy.

Vinesh had written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing her displeasure with the turn of events and the election of new WFI president Sanjay Singh, a close aide to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers.

Vinesh Phogat tried to leave her awards outside New Delhi's Prime Minister's Office. She was, however, stopped by police on the Kartavya Path. Vinesh decided to leave her awards on the Kartavya Path pavement.

In the letter, Vinesh Phogat stated that she would be returning her Arjuna and Khel Ratna Awards, expressing her dissatisfaction with no justice for female wrestlers. After several female wrestlers accused the former WFI chief of sexual harassment, India's top wrestlers, including Vinesh, Sakshee Malikkh, and Bajrang Punia, led months-long protests against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

"I was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award, but they hold no meaning in my life anymore. Every woman wants to live life with respect. Therefore, Prime Minister, I want to return my Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award to you so that these awards don't become a burden on us in the path of living with honour," she had written.

Notably, earlier this month, Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri Award, leaving it on the Kartavya Path pavement as a protest. Sakshi Malik, on the other hand, quit in December in a tearful press conference in the capital city in protest of the newly-elected WFI panel.