Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on Thursday urged the Union Government to mount pressure on International Olympic Committee (IOC) for permanently keeping the traditional sport of India Wrestling in the sports events of Olympic.
Sukhbir, who also holds Sports portfolio, said that though IOC has not removed wrestling from the list of short-listed sport events, Centre and the Sports Ministry should initiate efforts and register their timely intervention for saving the future of established and budding wrestlers of the country.
Asking the Union Government to seek the cooperation of other nations too for convincing IOC in this regard, Sukhbir said that after Hockey, Wrestling was the sports, which brought laurels for the nation by winning four medals in Olympics.
“It is the responsibility of Union Sports Ministry to safeguard India’s traditional game that has been fetching maximum medals in last few Olympics.”
“Punjab Government would also appeal to World Wrestling Federation to keep in the list of sports events of 2020 Olympic. Indian Government should also seek the cooperation from its neighboring and like-minded countries to put a collective and diplomatic pressure on all concerned countries to maintain the Olympic status of Wrestling,” he said.
Punjab Olympic Association president and former Union Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa also appealed the Union Sports Ministry to launch a concerted campaign to save the Olympic status of Wrestling.
“Western countries are worried from increasing interest of Indian youth in the traditional sports of wrestling and it is their planned conspiracy to out the wrestling from Olympic events.
Almost every village of Punjab has a wrestling ring and it is imperative for Union Sports Ministry to take concerted steps to save this traditional game from the extinction besides saving the future of lakhs of budding wrestlers,” he added.