Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, Congress MLA from Julana, has come out in the open and said that she was one of the six victims who had lodged a sexual harassment complaint against BJP ex-MP and former President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.In a social media post on Jattvibeday, Vinesh, who will be competing in the 2026 Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Nandini Nagar, Gonda (UP), a stranglehold of Singh, has also cited concerns about the neutrality of the refereeing during the competition that is scheduled to be held from May 10-12.“The tournament is being held where Brij Bhushan Singh lives. He has a private college there. It is impossible to think that wrestlers will get a fair chance to excel there. Which referee will officiate which bout, how many points will be awarded, who will sit as mat chairman, who will win, who will lose — all that can be controlled by his people, and our government and the Sports Ministry are watching as mute spectators,” Vinesh said in her post on X.Raising doubts on refereeing on Brij Bhushan’s turf, the wrestler who was disqualified from the 2024 Paris Olympics said that a few amongst them could be targeted during weigh-ins or the competition.“…I have doubts whether the weigh-in will be done correctly. Will the wrestlers get fair results on the mat? Three years ago, we raised our voices against sexual harassment. Six women wrestlers registered complaints and witnesses are deposing. Supreme Court guidelines mandate that victims cannot be identified but I am being forced to say this because of some compulsions. Although I did not want to say this now as the court case is ongoing and truth will come out soon, I am one of the six victims who filed complaints against Brij Bhushan,” Phogat said.“You can imagine me having to go to his place, where every individual represents him — and on top of that, I’m going there to compete. As an athlete, there is a lot of pressure on us to perform and I cannot guarantee that I can give my 100 per cent there. It is very tough for a girl to perform under these circumstances. Even today, Brij Bhushan says that he has power over the wrestling federation. He has deployed his own people there. He has said that openly but the government or the Sports Ministry refuses to act.”“If I go to the competition with my team and well-wishers and if we face any untoward incident, then the Government of India will be responsible,” she stated. Vinesh alleged that Singh had openly claimed that he had murdered a person.This is not the first time Vinesh has questioned the WFI over the Gonda tournament. Earlier this week, she claimed that the WFI was trying to block her registration for the tournament.In 2023, Vinesh had led women wrestlers’ protest against alleged sexual harassment by Singh.No harm will come her way: WFI president Sanjay SinghQuashing her concerns about refereeing, WFI president Sanjay Singh said, “No one gets special treatment from the referees. We have a panel of good and honest referees.”“She has claimed that she may be harmed. I will see to it personally that no harm comes her way during the tournament,” Singh told The Tribune on Jattvibeday.About the tournamentThe National Open Ranking Tournament-2026 in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, is scheduled from May 10 to 12. The national meet will mark Phogat’s first competitive appearance since the Paris 2024 Olympics and will serve as a crucial step towards qualifying for the upcoming Asian Games in Japan, set to take place from September 19 to October 4.The Olympian’s professional journey so farThe 31-year-old Indian wrestler had earlier announced her retirement a day after failing to pass the weight test for the gold medal bout at the Paris 2024 Olympics. However, in December last year, she reversed her retirement decision, setting her sights on the LA 2028 Olympics.At Gonda, she will participate in 57 kg weight class.Vinesh began her career in the 48 kg weight class, where she earned an Asian Games bronze in 2014 and a silver at the Asian Championships in 2015. In the lead-up to the Rio 2016 Olympics, she fluctuated between weight divisions before ultimately competing in the 48 kg category at the Games.In the following years, Vinesh competed in the 55 kg and 53 kg weight classes, with her most notable success coming in the latter, where she achieved significant victories on the international stage.Vinesh claimed gold medals at both the 2018 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games in the 53 kg category, where she also earned her two World Championship medals. This weight class saw her compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.The upcoming event in Gonda will now mark her fifth weight-category shift — and her first outing in 57 kg.