Army wrestler Satendra Malik on Tuesday attacked referee Jagbir Singh after losing his 125kg finals during the Commonwealth Games (CWG Trials) trials in New Delhi, prompting him to be banned for life by the national federation. The Air Force wrestler was leading 3-0 18 seconds before the end of the decider, but Mohit pushed him off the mat after a ‘take-down’. However, referee Virender Malik did not give Mohit two points of ‘take down’ and the wrestler challenged the decision.
The jury of this bout, Satyadev Malik, recused himself from the decision citing impartiality. Satyadev belongs to Mokhra village, from where Satender also comes. Thereafter, experienced referee Jagbir Singh was requested to look into the challenge. He decided to give three points to Mohit with the help of TV replays. After this the score became 3-3 and remained intact till the end. Mohit was declared the winner after securing the last point of the match.
With this decision, Satendra lost his cool and went to the mat of the 57kg match, where the final match between Ravi Dahiya and Aman was taking place, where referee Jagbir was also present. Satender reached Jagbir and started beating him. He first abused and then slapped Jagbir, who lost his balance and fell on the ground. The 57kg bout was then called off as the incident led to a ruckus inside the KD Jadhav Hall of the Indira Gandhi Stadium. Hundreds of fans, officials and participants were astonished to see such a sight.
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) officials sent Satendra out of the hall and resumed the match. All this was happening in front of the eyes of WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh sitting on the stage. Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of WFI, said, “We have imposed a life ban on Satendra Malik. This decision has been taken by the WFI President.
“The referee of that match will also be called to explain why Mohit was not awarded the points even though he clearly did a ‘take down’. Why did he let the situation get out of hand.” Jagbir Singh said, trembling, “I didn’t know he would do something like this.” Jagbir, who has been a top-level (Class One) referee since 2013, said, I had nothing to do with that match. I officiated in the finals of 97kg and 65kg. I gave the decision in that only when I was asked to do so.
He said, “It is up to the WFI what decision they take against it.” Satyadev Malik told PTI, “I wanted to stay away from taking the decision, because we live close to each other. Even in international wrestling if the wrestler is from India, no jury from India can participate in that match.” When asked about the incident, he said, “It is really unexpected, because Satendra is usually very calm. person’s.”