Sisai (Haryana): Wrestler Vishal Kaliraman can blame ill-luck for his predicament. Nothing had prepared him for the Asian Games setback that threw spanner in his hard work of more than a decade.
The 23-year-old wrestler from Sisai village battled bruises and a swollen right eye to cross the first hurdle for participating in the Games starting on 23 September by winning trials in the men’s freestyle 65 kg weight category.
However, just a day before the finals for the trials held 24 July, the Indian Olympic Association’s ad-hoc committee announced the direct entry of Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat in the Indian wrestling team bound for Hangzhou. Vishal will now be a standby for Bajrang in the Asian Games.
Standing behind Vishal is the Akhil Bhartiya Kaliraman Khap, which threw an open challenge to Bajrang for a ‘dangal’ (wrestling contest) to decide the spot for who gets to represent the country. A win will fetch Rs 27 lakh in cash, a hatchback car and a buffalo in prize, the khap has announced.
Vishal knows a thing or two about the burden of expectations. The wrestler comes from the same ‘gotra’ (lineage) with ‘Master’ Chandgi Ram, an Arjuna awardee worshipped in Sisai even 12 years after his death because of wrestling exploits that include winning Hind Kesari, Bharat Kesari, Rustam-e-Hind, Bharat Bhim and Maha Bharat Kesari titles.
In 1970, Ram had brought the spotlight on Sisai village by winning a gold medal in that year’s Asian Games. It was this piece of 53-year-old wrestling history that Vishal was hoping to repeat in Hangzhou. But, the hope of becoming the second Sisai villager to bring a gold medal for India seems all but dashed now.
Bajrang — who was at the forefront of the protest against sexual harassment of women wrestlers as late as in June — is training in Kyrgyzstan and will be flying directly to Hangzhou to participate in the Games.
The Print reached Bajrang through a call and a message on his mobile phone but did not get any response. This report will be updated once a response is received.
This correspondent travelled to Sisai village on Sunday to get first-hand view of the dispute that has led to the khap issuing a direct challenge to Bajrang that he should withdraw his name from the Asian Games squad if he loses to Vishal.
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‘Two khap panchayats but no resolution’
“You may not be able to understand how demoralising it is to go through all the trials, win game after game and win the trials despite injuries and then be told that you will remain a standby,” Vishal’s father Subhash Kaliraman, a former wrestler, told ThePrint.
Vishal has under his belt a gold medal in ONGC Free Style Junior National 2016, silver in Junior Asian Championship 2018, bronze in Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 event in Rome, gold in 2021 and 2022 Senior Men National Championship, among others.
The former BSF jawan said his son has given nearly 12 years to wrestling just to get an opportunity to bring a medal for the country in an international event.
“If senior players are to be given direct entries like this, then my son will never be able to participate in an international event. Fairness demands that if Bajrang had any intention of representing the country in the Asian Games, he should have played in the trials. Had he defeated Vishal, we wouldn’t have any objection,” Subhash said.
Winning a medal in the Asian Games brings a windfall to a sportsperson in Haryana. Gold medal fetches a cash award of Rs 3 crore from the Haryana government, while silver and bronze get Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 75 lakh, respectively.
Even a mere participation entitles a player to a cash award of Rs. 7.5 lakh. Gold medal winners get Group A jobs in the Haryana government, while silver and bronze medalists are handed Group B jobs.
“There is nothing wrong if a player, or my son for that matter, wants to win a medal in an international event for the sake of money and job, besides the pride that accompanies the medals. After all human pursuits are towards improving their lives and those of their near and dear ones. The money and jobs will definitely improve our lives. We have spent all we had on preparing Vishal for becoming an international wrestler,” Subhash explained.
Sajjan Singh, president of Akhil Bhartiya Kaliraman Khap Panchayat, and Ram Kumar Sihag, a former wrestler, told The Print that they organised several meetings involving several other khaps before throwing a challenge to Bajrang.
“I have known Mahabir Phogat, the father of Geeta and Babita Phogat for a long time. His another daughter Sangeeta is married to Bajrang Punia. After talking to Bajrang, Mahabir Phogat told us to meet Bajrang and was ready to withdraw, but he just wanted us to meet him at his Sonipat residence last month with a request so that he (Bajrang) has a reason to withdraw. When we met him, he was very nice to us. Bajrang suggested we call a khap panchayat and let the panchayat members decide who should be sent to Asian Games — he or Vishal,” Sihag told ThePrint.
Sajjan Singh said two khap panchayats were held in Jind, but nothing came out of these panchayats.
“In the first khap panchayat held on 24 August, both Bajrang and Vishal participated. However, the panchayat failed to reach any conclusion as Bajrang suggested that this was a smaller panchayat and that the people who supported him in the Jantar Mantar protest were not present there,” said Singh.
Another panchayat, this time a bigger one, was convened 9 September, but neither Bajrang nor any of his family members allegedly turned up at the gathering.
The village elders decided that as none from Bajrang Punia’s family was present, it was not possible for them to reach a mutually agreeable conclusion, Sihag alleged.
“It is then that I announced in a meeting held in our village after the two khap panchayats that if Bajrang thinks that he is a better wrestler than Vishal, then he should step inside dangal to take him on. And if he wins, I will give Rs 5 lakh as a cash award on my own. Soon, others started announcing awards and the total prize money swelled to Rs 27 lakh in cash, an i-20 car and a buffalo,” he said.
Manisha Kaliraman, a wrestling coach and a kin related to Vishal, told The Print that the wrestler’s family spent whatever they had on their son’s training and now, he was being told that he would be on standby for Bajrang.
“Organising one khap panchayat can lead to the expenditure sufficient to organise a girl’s wedding. I know this family well. They have spent whatever they had to ensure that Vishal gets a chance to play in Asian Games. Bajrang made us organise two khap panchayats in less than a month. If he was unwilling to keep his word, why did he ask us to hold panchayats?” she asked.
Manisha further claimed that sending Bajrang to the Asian Games will not be in the best of the country’s interests.
“As a wrestler, I know that the game demands continuous practice. Even a day’s gap sets you back. Bajrang Punia has been out of practice for several months as he sat on dharna at Jantar Mantar. Under these circumstances, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) must rethink their decision,” she added.
In a women’s wrestling academy at Altius Senior Secondary School in Sisai, a number of young wrestlers The Print spoke to conceded Bajrang Punia was an idol for them. But, they added, Bajrang left them disappointed with him for the way he did “injustice” to Vishal.
“Inaami Dangals (wrestling for money) has been common in Haryana and the wrestler who doesn’t accept a challenge is considered a coward. When the panchayat has challenged Bajrang to fight a dangal, he should not run away. Otherwise, people will always consider him a coward,” said Sakshi, a budding wrestler.
Vishal’s mother Raj Bala broke down as she narrated how she raised her son to become a wrestler. “When Bajrang Punia was at dharna with Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, I myself went to Jantar Mantar to support him. Now, Bajrang has given this award to my son for supporting him,” she lamented.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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