New Delhi: 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 Phogat. (Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times)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 such a thing,” Vinesh said.“Bias was there earlier too when WFI was run by the ad-hoc committee, but things were a little smoother. Now, it’s out in the open. When someone scored a point against me, WFI president (Sanjay Singh) was seen clapping. When the system is run by goons, what can we do?”Vinesh, a three-time Olympian and a two-time World Championships medallist, raised questions over refereeing, especially how they dealt with the marginal decisions. “All the close calls went their way. No caution was given to my opponents when they repeatedly twisted and locked my fingers. No passivity was given to them. I had to haggle for every point,” she said.Vinesh beat Jyoti 7-1 in the first round before seeing off Nishu 7-6 in a tough quarter-final marred by several lengthy challenges. The bout, which should have taken six minutes of regulation time, stretched for about 25 minutes while the semi-final also went beyond 20 minutes.The start of the day was also controversy-ridden with Vinesh wanting to compete in 53kg while WFI insisted she should enter the 50kg. The federation relented after an hour of deliberation.“I lost almost 90 minutes of rest and recovery time to avoidable controversy. They tried their level best to thwart my comeback, but I fought on. I am proud of my effort. I can go home to my ten-month old son with my head held high,” said the 31-year-old.“They intentionally put all the strong wrestlers in my half of the draw. That’s not fair play, but I accept my defeat. I’ll work harder and come back stronger. Today’s performance gave me the belief that I can compete against the youngsters. The fitness is still there, and so is the fire. I know the system will always be against me but I will work so hard that it won’t be able to pull me down any longer.”Vinesh said that her dream of an Olympic medal was still alive, after she was disqualified for not clearing the weigh-in before the final at the 2024 Paris Games. “That’s (LA 2028) definitely a dream. But I have to fight an Olympic-size battle every day – first I have to fight my son who doesn’t want me to leave, then these people (WFI), and then my opponents. It’s not easy, but I am not going anywhere. In my eyes, I go out as a winner.”The federation rejected Vinesh’s claims of biased refereeing. Calling the trials “professional and fair”, WFI president Sanjay Singh said: “There will always be a few unsatisfied people, but that’s their problem. She competed in the weight she wanted. The refereeing was also fair and unbiased.”