New Delhi: Indian wrestling greats Sakshi Malik and Geeta Phogat announced the formation of Wrestling Champions Super League (WCSL), a new wrestling league, on Monday. The two wrestlers have joined forces in developing a new competition focused on the improvement of budding Indian wrestlers. The two released a joint statement on social media where they talked about their new initiative and its aspects.
Sakshi, who won a bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympics, and Geeta, a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, jointly said, “The only way to repay your trust is to dedicate our sporting talent, experience, grit and success to the service of the sport. The two of us have therefore come together to create the Wrestling Champions Super League (WCSL).”
“In wrestling, are embedded some of Indian sports’ most stirring tales of valour, glory and sense of community. Through WCSL we will also bring those to life,” the two added in league’s promotion.
“The WCSL, a world class international league, will skill and strengthen our wrestlers to dominate the sport globally by taking on the world’s best in a hyper competitive, expertly supervised environment with best-in-class support systems in place,” the statement added.
प्रिय देशवासियों,
हमारे गाँव और समुदायों ने हमें पाला-पोसा, लेकिन पूरे राष्ट्र ने हमें चैंपियन बनाने में एकजुट होकर मदद की। तिरंगे के लिए लड़ने से बड़ा कोई सम्मान नहीं हो सकता है, और आपके प्यार और प्रेरणा से यह संभव हो सका। हम आपके प्रति आभारी हैं और अपने सार्वजनिक एवं निजी… pic.twitter.com/xJDBjMbRSL
— geeta phogat (@geeta_phogat) September 16, 2024
Aman Sehrawat extends support
Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat has joined the duo in the new endeavour. The statement also included Aman’s viewpoint of the new league. “This league is a very commendable initiative that will help Indian wrestling greatly and therefore I want to be a part of it and support it fully,” Sherawat said.
Sakshi and Geeta reflected on their objective behind announcing the new league saying that WCSL is a national mission despite being founded by the two and that it is committed to respecting and working in close partnership with all stakeholders.
“Winning, after all, is a team sport. Our hearts beat only for India, for Indian wrestling and for Indian sport. Come, let’s build the sporting India of our dreams mil ke, ek saath!” the statement concluded.
Sakshi, along with Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia spearheaded the wrestlers’ protest in 2023 against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for sexually harassing the female wrestlers. Now that Vinesh and Bajrang have entered politics ahead of the Haryana assembly elections, Sakshi came together with Geeta to announce the new league.
More details about the league are still awaited. This will be the first wrestling league in India since the last edition of the Pro Wrestling League held in 2019.
Geeta and Sakshi coming together also hint at a dynamic shift in the wrestlers’ movement against Brij Bhushan. Geeta and Babita were never part of that fight. Sakshi recently said that she also got offers to contest elections from some political parties. Are the alliances changing?
Sakshi Malik and Geeta Phogat have announced the formation of Wrestling Champions Super League (WCSL), a tournament aimed at enhancing the skills and strength of Indian wrestlers. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
