Yogeshwar Dutt on Sakshi Malik’s retirement: ‘Personal call’

After grappler Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from wrestling, former Olympic bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt said that retirement is a personal decision made by an athlete and referred to it as the “saddest” portion of a player’s career. “Athletes make the decision to retire at their own discretion, but I will add that it is really sad for a player to quit the game under any circumstances. The saddest aspect of their profession is having to retire since they devote their entire selves to the game and get respect and recognition as a result. In addition, it is contingent upon time,” Yogeshwar informed a news outlet.

Olympic medallist Sakshi, who was among the prominent figures in the wrestlers’ demonstration against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh due to claims of sexual harassment, declared on Thursday that she was stepping down from the sport following the election of Brij Bhushan’s assistant Sanjay Singh to the position of federation president. Sakshi announced her resignation at a press appearance in the nation’s capital, and as she was leaving the venue, she broke down in tears, devastated.

Speaking on her daughter Sakshi’s retirement, Sakshi’s mother Sudesh Malik said that it is a loss for the entire nation. “This is the most depressing day for the entire nation, not just for my family. Due to sexual harassment, she was forced to travel for forty days. As a result of the conflict, a new federation was supposed to be created, but those individuals have since returned. Sakshi will need some time to go past her passion of wrestling. She was working hard to fulfill her ambition of bringing home one more medal, hence her passing is a significant loss for our century, Sudesh told an agency.

The well-known wrestler declared her intention to retire from wrestling during the press conference by putting her shoes on the table. “Many individuals from all around the nation came to support us throughout our 40 days of sleeping on the roadways. Accompanied by a few other wrestlers involved in the protest, she declared, “I quit wrestling if Brij Bhushan Singh’s business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI.”

“A female president is what we’ve demanded. Harassment would not occur if a woman were elected president. However, women did not participate before, and as you can see from the list today, not a single woman was awarded a place. We had battled with all of our might, but the struggle will go on. The new generation of wrestlers must compete,” she continued.