India, May 30 -- Launching a scathing attack on Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) after a hard-fought loss in the Asian Games trials on Saturday, wrestler Vinesh Phogat claimed the federation was punishing her for speaking up against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and alleged "blatant bias" in refereeing.

Vinesh, who was the face of the 36-day sit-in protest here against Brij Bhushan in 2023, lost the 53kg semi-final bout to Asian Championships silver medallist Meenakshi Goyat (4-6). Goyat eventually lost the final to Antim Panghal in another bitterly contested bout.

"They want to take revenge against me for speaking up against Brij Bhushan. At best they (WFI) can get me killed, but they would know the consequences of ...