The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Tuesday “temporarily suspended” Vinesh Phogat for indiscipline during her forgettable Tokyo Olympics campaign and also issued a notice to the young Sonam Malik.
Vinesh, who crashed out of the Games in the quarters after a crushing defeat by “fall”, has been given time till August 16 to reply to the notice.
The grappler, who had travelled to Tokyo from Hungary where she had trained with coach Woller Akos, had refused to stay at the Games Village and train with the Indian team members. She also did not wear the name of the official sponsors of the Indian contingent, Shiv Naresh.
“She has been suspended temporarily. She can’t compete in any national or other domestic event until she files a reply and the WFI takes a decision,” a WFI source said.
The officials said Vinesh had created a ruckus when she was allotted a room near those of her teammates — Sonam, Anshu Malik and Seema Bisla — arguing that she might contract the Covid-19 since the rest had travelled from India.
The 19-year old Sonam was given a notice for misconduct.