Wrestler Sakshi Malik's tweet to Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the Chennai Super Kings won their fifth IPL title on Monday went viral on social media.
While congratulating Dhoni & Co, Sakshi -- the first woman Olympic medalist in wrestling -- took a swipe at the state of things in the country.
While India was ecstatic over Dhoni after the IPL 2023 final, there was hardly any outcry over the gruesome treatment meted out to some of India's top wrestlers, who were dragged on the streets and detained by the Delhi police a day earlier.
'Congratulations MS Dhoniji and CSK. We are happy that at least some sportspersons are getting respect and love they deserve. For us, the fight for justice is still on,' Sakshi said in her tweet, which received more than 50,000 likes and nearly 10,000 retweets in 12 hours.
The wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Malik, Bajrang Punia and Asian Games champion Vinesh Phogat were talked out of their plans to toss their medals into the Ganga on Tuesday as part of their ongoing demand to arrest Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh -- who is also a Bharatiya Janata Party MP -- over sexual harassment allegations.
Farmers leader Naresh Tikait convinced the wrestlers to call off their action, promising a solution within five days.
The protesting wrestlers were briefly detained by the Delhi police on Sunday and their protest site at the capital's Jantar Mantar was cleared after they tried to move towards the new Parliament building.
Olympic gold medallists Neeraj Chopra and Abhinav Bindra have already voiced their support for the protesting wrestlers, while among the cricketing fraternity only a few have come forward to back them including Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag.
Former tennis star Sania Mirza, world championship gold medallist Nikhat Zareen, former hockey captain Rani Rampal are the most prominent women athletes to have expressed support for the wrestlers.
Spin legend Anil Kumble came out in support of the protesting wrestlers on Monday, stating that he was 'dismayed' at how the wrestlers were manhandled by the police on Sunday.
'Dismayed to hear about what transpired on the 28th of May with our wrestlers being manhandled. Anything can be resolved through proper dialogue. Hoping for a resolution at the earliest,' Kumble tweeted.
