Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday morning paid a “surprise” visit to a prominent akhara in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh town, adjoining the national capital, and interacted with young wrestlers training under Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia.
Mr. Gandhi later shared pictures of the visit on social media platform X, commenting in Hindi that the wrestlers were simple, straightforward, innocent people from farming communities, and they should be allowed to serve the Tricolour. “There is only one question — if these sportspersons and daughters of India have to fight for their rights on the streets, instead of wrestling in the akharas, than who would encourage their children to choose this path?” his post read.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Gandhi spent a couple of hours at the Lala Deewan Chand Modern Wrestling and Yoga Centre, which is run by former national wrestler and Mr. Punia’s coach, Virender Arya (52), at Chhara village. He inquired after the wrestlers’ daily routine and the rules of the game. As the holder of black and blue belts in aikido and jiu-jitsu, Mr. Gandhi shared his own experiences and engaged in a mock wrestling session with Mr. Punia, before savouring a Haryanvi repast that included bajra (pearl millet) roti, sarson ka saag (mustard greens), radish, and cow’s milk.
Mr. Arya told The Hindu over a phone call that the wrestlers, busy with their morning exercises, had been surprised to see Mr. Gandhi, who reached at about 6 a.m. “He also discussed the sequence of events leading to the wrestlers protest, and the recent events over the past few days. We told him that the wrestlers and the locals had been hurt and adversely impacted by the controversy. Mr. Gandhi also advocated the need for politicians to stay away from sports federations and let players take control of them,” the coach said, adding that he too had been surprised by the visit.
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Mr. Arya said that Mr. Punia, who had been away in Mumbai, had returned to his home in Jhajjar on Tuesday night, and arrived at the akhara around 5 a.m. on Wednesday. “He might have been aware of Mr. Gandhi’s visit, but he did not disclose it to us,” Mr. Arya, who has since 1995 been heading the akhara that has produced around 30 international wrestlers, including two Olympians — Bajrang Punia and Deepak Punia.
