Roger Binny, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has distanced himself from the statement issued by the 1983 World Cup-winning team on the ongoing wrestlers’ protest.
“Contrary to some media reports, I would like to clarify that I have not issued any statement regarding the current situation of the wrestlers’ protest. I believe that the competent authorities are working to resolve the issue. As a former cricketer, I believe that sports should not be mixed with politics,” Binny said in a statement on Friday.
Earlier today, the members of the 1983 World Cup team urged the elite athletes not to take a hasty decision and hoped their grievances will be heard and resolved.
“We are distressed and disturbed at the unseemly visuals of our champion wrestlers being manhandled. We are also most concerned that they are thinking of dumping their hard-earned medals into river Ganga,” a statement released by the 1983 World Cup winning team read.
“Those medals have involved years of effort, sacrifice, determination, and grit and are not only their own but the nation’s pride and joy. We urge them not to take any hasty decision in this matter and also fervently hope that their grievances are heard and resolved quickly. Let the law of the land prevail,” the statement read further.
India’s top wrestlers held off from throwing their medals into the country’s sacred river Ganga on Tuesday — as part of an ongoing protest against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, for allegedly sexually harassing young female athletes.
“These medals are our life and soul. After we immerse them in the Ganga river, there would be no meaning for us to live. So we will go to the India Gate and sit on a fast unto death,” the wrestlers had said in a statement.
(With inputs from PTI)
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