Rohtak, India – On a scorching summer day, a strong, well-built man in his thirties drove his SUV to the outskirts of the bustling city of Rohtak in the northern Indian state of Haryana. Turning off the main road, he stopped at a large white metal gate of a sports stadium. The gate had been closed for years, and the stadium appeared deserted. It was the only place he felt secure enough to meet and talk. “You can’t use my name, and you can’t use hers,” the man, dressed in a loose grey T-shirt, black basketball shorts, and slippers, said. Despite the air conditioning in the SUV being on full blast, he couldn’t shake off his nerves. He insisted I put away my recorder, as its presence made him anxious. Then, he began recounting a chilling tale of one of the most influential men in Indian sports, accused of sexually assaulting young wrestlers for over a decade. “When she confided in me about her harassment, I was in tears,” the man in the SUV, the guardian of one of the female wrestlers, said, looking down at the car’s floor, sounding suddenly weary. This story had been widely covered on Indian TV channels and in the streets of the capital for months. The victims were numerous, but the man accused of tormenting them remained the same: Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a politician from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). However, the man in the SUV revealed that the abuse did not stop at sexual harassment. Singh, he claimed, was now using his political power and connections in Indian wrestling and the broader sporting bureaucracy to silence and intimidate his victims. “I fear for my life and for her career,” he said. His words echoed those of India’s top freestyle wrestlers, who had staged a protest near the Indian Parliament demanding Singh’s removal and an investigation into the allegations against him. The wrestlers recounted how Singh, during his tenure as WFI chief, had allegedly fostered a culture of brazen sexual abuse. The wrestlers feared for their safety and careers, especially if Singh was not removed from his position. Singh denied the accusations, but months later, several female wrestlers, including a minor, filed police complaints against him. The man in the SUV regretted the decision to file a case, as it only led to more intimidation and threats against the complainants and their supporters. Today, those who stand against Singh fear reprisals, including false doping allegations and bans from competitions. The man in the SUV recounted receiving a threatening phone call and how Nada officials had pressured the female wrestler to undergo a dope test. Despite the challenges, female wrestlers from Haryana continue to train and compete, carrying the hopes of a nation. However, the scandal surrounding Singh has cast a shadow over the wrestling community in Haryana, leading to a decline in new admissions at wrestling academies. Parents are hesitant to enroll their daughters due to the sport’s tainted reputation. Rohtak, known for its wrestling academies, has seen a decrease in attendance as fear of abuse lingers in the community.
