Sakshi Malik, Geeta Phogat launch Wrestling Champions Super League

Renowned Indian wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Geeta Phogat announced the formation of a new wrestling league, namely the Wrestling Champions Super League (WCSL), on Monday.

Sakshi, a 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist, and Geeta, a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, in a joint statement, said, "The only way to repay your trust is to dedicate our sporting talent, experience, grit and success to the service of the sport. The two of us have therefore come together to create the Wrestling Champions Super League (WCSL)."

"In wrestling, are embedded some of Indian sports’ most stirring tales of valour, glory and sense of community. Through WCSL we will also bring those to life," they added.

"The WCSL, a world class international league, will skill and strengthen our wrestlers to dominate the sport globally by taking on the world’s best in a hyper competitive, expertly supervised environment with best-in-class support systems in place," the statement said.

Joining the duo in this new endeavour is Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat.

Talking about the WCSL, Aman said, “This league is a very commendable initiative which will help Indian wrestling greatly and therefore I want to be a part of it and support it fully."

Reflecting on their objective behind launching a new league, Sakshi and Geeta said, "Although founded by the two of us, the WCSL is a national mission committed to respecting and working in close partnership with all stakeholders. Winning, after all, is a team sport. Our hearts beat only for India, for Indian wrestling and for Indian sport. Come, let’s build the sporting India of our dreams mil ke, ek saath!"

Sakshi, who was one of the prominent faces of the wrestlers' protest in 2023, launched the new league after Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia - the other two famous wrestlers leading the protest - joined politics by hopping to Congress ahead of the Haryana assembly elections.

Although Sakshi and Geeta did not disclose the details about the league, this is likely to be the first wrestling league in India since 2019 when the last edition of the Pro Wrestling League, initiated by ProSportify and the Wrestling Federation of India in 2015, was held in 2019.