‘Skipped camp due to injury’

New Delhi, May 18

A day after news emerged that 15 wrestlers, including the four Phogat sisters, had been axed from the national camp, Geeta Phogat said that the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) knew of her and her sisters’ whereabouts.
Talking to The Tribune from the JSW Sports training facility near Bengaluru, Geeta said WFI was well aware that she and her sisters were in no position to join the national camp, being held in Lucknow from May 10. She said she was unable to join the camp due to a knee injury, and Babita too was injured.
“I had mailed my medical reports to the federation just yesterday,” she said. “I think there is a slight mistake on the part of the federation that they failed to check the mail in my case. I have a problem in the knee and I had to take injections to manage the pain.”
Geeta added she had an appointment with a specialist on May 14, and that she was asked to take a couple of days off from training. She said she had planned to take a flight to Lucknow after that to join the camp.
‘Overreaction’

“But before I could do that, I was told of headlines like ‘Phogat sisters of Dangal fame thrown out of camp’. I think everyone is overreacting in this issue,” explained Geeta. “This is not that big news. I am sure that the federation will listen to our point of view and will be lenient on us.” Geeta became the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics, at London 2012. The 29-year-old had won a bronze medal at the 2012 World Championships in Alberta, Canada.
Babita, Ritu and Sangeeta are the other Phogat sisters who have been dropped from the national camp. As per a WFI communication, the Phogat sisters were among 15 grapplers who were axed from the camps for “indiscipline and throwing tantrums”. Satyawart Kadian, bronze medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, has also been axed.
Geeta said that Babita, suffering from an injury, is in Bhiwani while Ritu and Sangeeta are training in Sonepat. “The federation also knew that Babita is injured. What is surprising is the case of Ritu and Sangeeta. They have been in constant touch with the federation as they want to go to Russia for training. They have been calling the federation daily to check whether they have been granted visas to travel,” she said. “However, having said that, I think this matter will be over shortly,” she added.
‘Arrogant WFI’

While Geeta played down the issue, her father Mahavir Phogat criticised WFI for its “high-handedness”.
“They are being arrogant. When they know where my daughters are at this moment, how can they issue a letter barring them from the camp? And we are yet to receive any show-cause notice,” he said.