WFI row: Vinesh Phogat leaves Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award at Kartavya Path, picked up by Delhi Police

Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Saturday left her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award in the middle of New Delhi's Kartavya Path after Delhi Police stopped her from reaching the Prime Minister's office. The ace grappler wanted to return the medals to the PM, but was forced to look for alternatives after being halted.

On Tuesday, the Asian Games gold medallist had decided to return her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award to the government. She maintained that such honours have become meaningless at a time when wrestlers are struggling to get justice, news agency PTI reported.

Phogat had announced her decision in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As a mark of protest against being stopped by the Delhi Police from reaching the PMO, Vinesh Phogat left the awards at the Kartavya Path. They were later picked up by police personnel, the PTI report said.

Phogat, along with Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, had protested against the election of Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who had been accused of sexual harassment by the three well-known grapplers.

Sakshi had also announced her retirement from wrestling soon after Sanjay Singh's appointment as WFI Chief.

However, the Sports Ministry later suspended the newly-elected panel for not following the provisions of its own constitution while taking decisions while asking the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to constitute an ad-hoc panel to manage the affairs of the sports body.

In her letter posted on X (formerly Twitter), Phogat had said that their lives are not like those "fancy government advertisements" that talk about women's empowerment and upliftment.

Acting on the sports ministry directive, the IOA on Wednesday constitued a three-member ad hoc committee to run the day-to-day affairs of the WFI.

- With PTI inputs