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Here are all the key updates from December 22, Friday:
Telugu Titans pick up first win of the season, Tamil Thalaivas lose at home
On the first day of the Chennai leg of PKL 10, home tema Tamil Thalaivas were outclassed by Patna Pirates in a 46-33 scoreline, which kept the Thalaivas second from bottom on the PKL table.
The bottom team Telugu Titans, meanwhile, closed the gap on the Thalaivas as they picked up their first win of the season at the sixth time of asking, beating Haryana Steelers in a close game 37-36.
ISL: East Bengal and Odisha play out goalless draw
East Bengal played out their third consecutive goalless draw as Odisha FC were prevented from scoring for the first time this season, as the two sides shared the spoils at the Salt Lake stadium.
With space at a premium, Odisha managed to create little despite having most of the possession. Roy Krishna and Nandhakumar Sekar came closest for either side in the first half, but both keepers were barely tested. The second half saw Krishna fashion Odisha's best chance of the game with a low cross across goal, but it amounted to nothing. East Bengal fans were left seething late on as the referee turned down two penalty appeals - one for a handball by Mourtada Fall, and another for a foul on P V Vishnu.
The result saw both teams continue their unbeaten run, with Odisha in fifth while East Bengal climbed to seventh in the table.
Bajrang Punia returns Padma Shri
Wrestler Bajrang Punia announced that he will return his Padma Shri as a mark of protest over Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Singh being elected as the new Wrestling Federation of India president.
His reaction comes a day after fellow Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from the sport at an emotional press conference.
Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh Phogat were the leading the wrestlers protests against Singh, accusing him of sexual harassment and financial misappropriation.
मैं अपना पद्मश्री पुरस्कार प्रधानमंत्री जी को वापस लौटा रहा हूँ. कहने के लिए बस मेरा यह पत्र है. यही मेरी स्टेटमेंट है। ���� pic.twitter.com/PYfA9KhUg9
- Bajrang Punia ���� (@BajrangPunia) December 22, 2023
In a letter, posted in Hindi, he explained the reason behind his action, detailling the wrestlers protests since January and speaking about the various ways they tried to engage the government.
He statement reads: "Dear PM Ji, hope your health is well. You must be busy in many work but I am writing this to draw your attention to the wrestlers of the country.
"You must be aware that the women wrestlers of the country started a protest in January this year against Brij Bhushan Singh accusing him of sexual harassment. I too joined their protest. The protest stopped after the government promised strong action." Expressing his disappointment, the star wrestler added, "But there was no FIR against Brij Bhushan even after three months. We again took to the streets in April so that the police at least file an FIR against him.
"There were 19 complainants in January but the number came down to seven by April. This means Brij Bhushan exerted his influence on 12 women wrestlers." He further wrote, "Our protest went on for 40 days. There was much pressure on us during those days. Our protest site was vandalized and we were also not allowed to protest any more. We did not know what to do next so we went to immerse our medals in the Ganga.
"Then we were stopped by the farmer leaders and coaches. At that time a minister from your cabinet called us up and assured us justice. We also met the Union home minister who also promised us of justice. So, we stopped our protest. But in the election of the WFI on December 21, the federation came under Brij Bhushan once again. He himself said he would prevail over the federation like he did always.
"Coming under tremendous pressure, Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from wrestling. We shed tears the entire night. We did not understand what to do, or where to go. The government has given us a lot. I was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2019. I also received the Arjuna, Khel Ratna award.
"When I got these awards, I was on cloud nine. But today the sadness weighs more. And the reason is a woman wrestler left the sport because of her security," the wrestler added.
He said sport has made a big difference to the lives of girls in the country but the situation is not ideal right now.
"Sport has empowered our women athletes and changed their lives but the situation is such that the women who could have been the brand ambassadors of beti bachao, beti padhao are now leaving the sport. And we, the wrestlers who were awarded could not do anything. I can't live my life as a Padma Shri awardee while our women wrestlers are insulted. Hence I return this award to you," Bajrang said.
According to PTI, Bajrang on Friday tried to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hand over a protest letter, where he mentioned about returning his Padma Shri award. But he was stopped at Kartavya Path by Delhi Police officials since he didn't have any prior appointment.
Sanjay Singh becomes WFI chief, wrestlers feel hard done
In case you missed it, Sanjay Singh was elected as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India yesterday. Sanjay is a close aide of former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and his election to the top post came as a massive blow to the protesting wrestlers, who were assured by the government that no one linked to Brij Bhushan would be part of the new WFI administration. The fallout of that saw Rio Olympics medallist Sakshi Malik announce her retirement.
Anirudh Menon writes about how the elections were supposed to be a fresh start and a chance for the WFI to move past scandal and controversy, but instead they took a U-turn to go right back to where they always were: Empire strikes back: Wrestling election sees return of tainted old guard, spurns chance to change
The wrestlers who led the protests against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh react to Sanjay Singh's election as the new WFI President. pic.twitter.com/f3ZsEjkdy5
- ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) December 21, 2023
What's on today?
East Bengal host Odisha FC in the ISL.
PKL action resumes, with the start of the Chennai leg, as Tamil Thalaivas face Patna Pirates and Haryana Steelers take on Telugu Titans.
After a dominant performance on the opening day of the Test, the Indian women resume against Australia just 121 runs behind in the first innings, having nine wickets in hand.
What happened yesterday?
D Gukesh won the Chennai Masters to strengthen his chance of qualifying for the FIDE Candidates tournament.
Jamshedpur FC beat the ISL's bottom team Hyderabad FC 5-0, with striker Daniel Chima Chukwu scoring a hat-trick.
Sanjay Singh was elected the new WFI president, the fallout of which saw Rio Olympics medallist Sakshi Malik announce that she was quitting the sport.
India beat South Africa by 78 runs in the third ODI to win the series 2-1. Sanju Samson scored his maiden ODI century, while Arshdeep Singh picked up four wickets.
You can check all the details of yesterday's news events here.