We did not run away from trials: Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia

Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia who have been on the receving end of the wrestling fraternitys criticism for accepting exemption from the Asian Games trials on Monday said they are hurt that junior wresters dragged them to the court but are at the same time delighted to see them fight for their rightsThe IOA adhoc panel conducted trials in all 18 categories for the Hangzhou Games but decided to give direct entries to Bajrang 65kg and Vinesh 53kg triggering angry reactions from many in the wrestling fraternity including parents and coaches of young wrestlersJunior wresters Antim Panghal and Sujeet Kalkal approached the Delhi High Court appealing that the exemption be set aside but their petition was dismissedBoth Bajrang and Vinesh who are abroad at different locations for training came live on social media to respond to the allegations and recent developmentsWe are not against the trials I cant blame Antim She is not wrong She is fighting for her right and we are fighting for our right She is too young she does not understand But we are not wrong Vinesh saidWe fought against the system against the powerful We took blows on our heads no one came forward thenShe says she was cheated but did I cheat during CWG trials If at all it was done it was done by Brij Bhushan or got it done My job was to wrestle and I did thatIf she felt cheated then she should have gone to court at that time It hurts But I am glad the kids have started speaking they are gathering courage now Its positive for wrestling the twotime World Championship medallist Vinesh saidBajrang said they wanted to speak on the issue only after the trials and after the decision of the Delhi High Court order on the petitionIt was said that there are 34 wrestlers who can beat Vinesh but dear Antim Vinesh has not lost as yet and will not loseAntim you said you became first Indian to win U20 championship but Vinesh is also the only woman wrestler to have won two Worlds medal You filed court case against us he saidAlso Read Bajrang Punia Vinesh Phogat granted direct entries into Asian Games 2023Vinesh said they do not fear trialsWe have given 20 years to wrestling She says I have not practised but I was at protest site We are still hungry We put everything at stake when we were at the peak of our careerThe effort that they have put in getting these trials done if that much they had done at dharna Brij Bhushan would not have been outside today and all of us would have been wrestlingWe did not run away from trials we just wanted enough time to train Take our trials we have not run away from country Someone wins and someone loses but we cant be given even onemonth time to train she saidVinesh also asserted that she is not going to quit like thisIts been 20 years I have been in this sport Twice I have returned from Olympics without a medal My mother and I have dreamt of winning at the Olympics Why should I quitThe youngsters are being misled If they say we have done nothing its wrong It hurts We also made contributions by winning medals but the sport is being destroyed People who call themselves God of wrestling do not know how to respect women she saidBajrang said they wont issue clarifications every now and thenThe whole wrestling fraternity can sit together You answer our questions and we will answer yours If we are proved wrong we will quit wrestlingThey also lambasted London Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt for siding with outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who they have accused of sexually exploiting women wrestlersWith PTI inputs