Concerned about the possibility of wrestlers immersing their hard-earned medals into the sacred river Ganga as a form of protest, the members of the 1983 World Cup winning cricket team have urged the elite athletes to reconsider their hasty decision. The cricket team expressed hope that the grievances of the wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Bajrang Punia, who have been demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Birj Bhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual exploitation of women wrestlers, will be heard and resolved.

While the wrestlers took their protest to Haridwar on May 30, they decided against immersing their medals into the Ganga, despite threatening to do so. Previously, on May 28, the wrestlers were detained by the Delhi Police for violating law and order during their march towards the new Parliament building without permission.

The police, in addition to detaining the wrestlers, cleared the protest site and explicitly stated that the wrestlers would not be allowed back at Jantar Mantar. The police’s actions against the wrestlers have drawn criticism from various quarters.

Expressing their distress and concern over the treatment of the champion wrestlers, the 1983 World Cup winning team released a statement to PTI saying, “We are distressed and disturbed at the unseemly visuals of our champion wrestlers being manhandled. We are also most concerned that they are thinking of dumping their hard-earned medals into the river Ganga.” The statement emphasized the years of effort, sacrifice, determination, and grit behind those medals, which are not only a source of pride and joy for the athletes but also for the entire nation. The team urged the wrestlers to avoid making any hasty decisions and expressed a fervent hope that their grievances would be addressed and resolved promptly, urging them to respect the rule of law.

Led by the legendary skipper Kapil Dev, the Indian cricket team achieved a historic victory by defeating the formidable Clive Lloyd-led West Indies, securing India’s first World Cup trophy. The memorable final took place at Lord’s on June 25, 1983, featuring renowned players such as Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, K Srikanth, Syed Kirmani, Yashpal Sharma, Madan Lal, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Sandeep Patil, Kirti Azad, and Roger Binny.