The contrast couldn't have been starker. The scenes outside the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) office - also outgoing president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's official residence were delirious.
Drums and flowers awaited the newly-elected president Sanjay Singh, but no sooner did Brij Bhushan make an appearance, it was evident who was calling the shots. Brij Bhushan had, technically speaking, nothing to do with Thursday's polls. His tenure as WFI president had maxed out, his son or son-in-law were not in the running, and he doesn't hold any office in the federation too.
Still, when the 66-year-old BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh's Kaiserganj emerged from his office, his supporters literally bent over backwards to seek his blessings. Garlanded and elated, he declared Sanjay's win as a "victory for the wrestlers".
A little over 500m away, in the teeming, sombre first floor hall of Press Club of India, three of India's most accomplished wrestlers sat dejected and defeated. The sight of Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat collectively addressing the media had, in the course of this year, become a recurring leitmotif of the landmark protest the trio has led against Brij Bhushan, a five-time MP.
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