Indian Olympic wrestlers Punia and Phogat joined the opposition Congress after entering politics

Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, Indian Olympic wrestlers, joined the opposition Congress party on Friday. This move comes a year after they protested against the chief of the sport’s regulating body in India over allegations of sexual harassment.

The decision was made weeks after Phogat’s emotive return home from the Paris Olympics last month, during which she failed to meet the weight requirement for the women’s 50kg freestyle final by 100 grams, despite subjecting herself to a weekly fast.

It compelled the 30-year-old Asian Games gold medalist to declare her retirement from the sport and sparked an outpouring of support. Upon her arrival in Delhi, hundreds of tears were shed by admirers and wrestlers who took her on a roadshow to her village in northern India.

Their political debut occurs just weeks prior to provincial elections in Haryana, the state in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is vying for a third consecutive term in office.

K. C. Venugopal, the Congress General Secretary, addressed reporters in New Delhi after the wrestlers were inducted into the party. “They have not only brought glory to the country in the sports field but have also fought a strong battle against injustice on the street.”

Phogat assured reporters that “our struggle will persist and we will prevail, both in the courtroom and in life.” “I am proud to be with a party that stands with women and against any injustice.”

“The hard work we have put in during the protests and in support of farmers, soldiers, and the youth will continue for our country,” stated Punia, 30, who earned a bronze medal in the men’s 65-kg wrestling event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The previous year, Phogat, Punia, and fellow wrestler Sakshi Malik, who was also an Olympic bronze medalist, were the focal point of a months-long protest that called for criminal action against the then chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

In June of last year, Singh, who was also a federal lawmaker from the BJP, was charged with criminal intimidation and sexual harassment in connection with a case that was lodged by six female wrestlers.

Any wrongdoing has been denied by him.