As the crowd chanted ‘Dhoni, Dhoni’ chants at the Arun Jaitley Stadium during the IPL 2023 game between DC and CSK, India’s top wrestlers stood outside at the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and alleged they were denied entry, as per The Indian Express.
“We had come to watch the match. Five of us, with five tickets. They checked our tickets and told us they wouldn’t let us through,” said Vinesh Phogat exclusively to The Indian Express.
“They told us it would be a security issue and that they’d seat us in a VIP area. We told them, ‘No, we want to watch the game from the seats we have tickets for,’” she added.
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The protesting wrestlers are at the moment demanding that WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh be arrested after seven women wrestlers, including a minor, filed complaints.
Vinesh, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik were at the stadium in white t-shirts reading, ‘I support wrestlers’. Their tickets were for the ‘East Stand ground floor’ entry.
“At first, they didn’t give us our tickets back. We kept arguing with them, telling them that we want to watch games from our seats. We’re normal people, we want to watch the game from normal seats. When we were returning, they stopped us again. They’re neither letting us go in nor leave the stadium,” Vinesh went on to say.
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“I don’t know why they are creating an issue. We’re just wearing our white shirts to watch the game here. We’re doing nothing illegal. This is our right,” Vinesh continued.
But the Dehli Police denied the incident and tweeted saying anyone with a valid ticket could enter the venue.