Yogeshwar Dutt takes a jibe at Vinesh Phogat for seeking benefits equivalent to an Olympic medallist

London Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt today took a jibe at former woman wrestler- turned-politician Vinesh Phogat for seeking benefits equivalent to an Olympics silver medallist from Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini in the Haryana Assembly's Budget session recently.

In a social media post, Dutt today said, "Time is very powerful. Those who used to talk of throwing prize money at government's face are now begging for money in the Vidhan Sabha.”

Vinesh was disqualified for being overweight ahead of the final in the women's 50kg event at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Now a Congress MLA from Julana, Vinesh had reminded the CM of his promise made on August 7, 2024, to honour her with the benefits of an Olympics silver medallist, after which the Haryana Cabinet decided to take it up as a special case.

In a press conference, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had said, “Since Phogat is now an MLA, the Cabinet has decided to seek options from her of which benefits she wishes to avail."

The CM stated that "she was disqualified from the Paris Olympics through a procedural decision. Given the circumstances at the time, he had tweeted that he would not allow the honour of Haryana's pride, Vinesh Phogat, to be lessened.”

Under Haryana's sports policy, an Olympics silver medallist is entitled to a cash prize of Rs 4 crore, an outstanding sportsperson job under Group 'A', and the allotment of a Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran plot.

Vinesh, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik had started a protest against WFI chief on January 2023 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, over sexual harassment charges. The protests had continued till June 7, 2023.