Wrestlers' protest continues; Neeraj, Sania Mirza, Rani Rampal call for justice

The Indian sporting fraternity on Friday put its weight behind the protesting wrestlers with Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra leading the way with a plea for quick action to ensure that justice is servedBesides champion javelin thrower Chopra ace boxer Nikhat Zareen tennis star Sania Mirza hockey player Rani Rampal renowned former cricketers Virender Sehwag Harbhajan Singh Irfan Pathan Madan Lal and Navjot Singh Sidhu also came out in support of the wrestlersThese sports personalities expressed their views a day after Indian Olympic Association IOA president PT Usha came down heavily on the wrestlers for hitting the streets to resume their protests instead of approaching its athletes commissionThe wrestlers have accused Wrestling Federation of India WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment and intimidationChopra tweeted It hurts me to see our athletes on the streets demanding justice They have worked hard to represent our great nation and make us proud As a nation we are responsible for safeguarding the integrity and dignity of every individual athlete or not Whats happening should never happen This is a sensitive issue and must be dealt with in an impartial and transparent manner Pertaining authorities must take quick action in order to ensure that justice is servedThe wrestlers have now received support from the countrys only two individual Olympic gold medalists with 2008 Beijing Games shooting champion Abhinav Bindra too recently voicing his support to the grapplersThe wrestlers who include Olympics Commonwealth and World Championships medal winners in Bajrang Punia Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat have been sitting in at Jantar Mantar in the heart of the national capital since last weekendDouble world championship gold medallist Zareen said It breaks my heart to see our Olympic amp World medallists in this state Sports people also serve the nation by bringing glory amp laurels I sincerely hope amp pray that the law takes its own course and justice is served at the earliest Jai HindSania tweeted As an athlete but more as a woman this is too difficult to watch theyve brought laurels to our country and we have all celebrated them with them if you have done that then its time to now stand with them in this difficult time too this is a highly sensitive matter and serious allegations I hope whatever the truth is justice is served sooner rather than laterWhile no active India cricketer has expressed its opinion on the matter some former players aired their viewsIt is extremely sad that our champions who have brought laurels to the country hoisted the flag and brought so much happiness to all of us have to come out on the road today It is a very sensitive matter and it should be investigated impartially Hope the players get justice Sehwag tweetedAlso read Rani Rampal stays tightlipped on wrestlers protestFormer offspinner and Aam Aadmi Party AAP MP Harbhajan wrote Sakshi Vinesh are Indias pride I am pained as a sportsperson to find pride of our country coming out to protest on the streets I pray that they get justice Irfan Pathan wrote Indian athletes are always our pride not only when they get medals for usWhile Madan Lal said Problem with our sports mens and womens are they never stand by there own players P T usha comments are not best for players unityNavjot Singh Sidhu who is now attached with the Congress also voiced his concerns and said he will join the wrestlers at Jantar Mantar on MondayShocking that 9 women of recognition complained amp no FIR is registered Itll be a tear on the cheek of time in Indian history Any country that insults their women icons is hurting its own pride these women have brought laurels to the nation They have given wings to the aspirations of millionsHurting their self esteem is hurting Indias pride are the bigwigs of our country above the law The law must set a deterrent that generations must tremble before insulting women a good example is the best sermon you can preachMeanwhile Indian womens team star hockey player Rani Rampal said Extremely painful to see our renowned wrestlers demanding justice on the streets of India It tears me apart to see my fellow athletes in this situation who have worked hard in their lives won great laurels for our beloved country THEY DESERVE JUSTICEChopra who is currently training in Antalya Turkey and has his seasonopening event in Doha Diamond League on May 6 has been getting compliments on social media since expressing his views on the issueAlso backing the wrestlers were cricket legend Kapil Dev and sixtime Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan among othersOn Thursday Bindra had tweeted As athletes we train hard every day to represent our country on the international stage It is deeply concerning to see our athletes finding it necessary to protest on the streets regarding the allegations of harassment in the Indian wrestling administrationOver the last five days the wrestlers have slept and trained at the protest siteSpeaking to reporters after an executive committee meeting of the IOA on Thursday Usha said Our feeling is that for sexual harassment complaints IOA has a committee and athletes commission Instead of going to the street again they should have come to us but they have not at all come to IOAThe IOA also announced the formation of a threemember committee to run the daytoday affairs of the WFI and conduct fresh polls within 45 daysThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever