Legend Muhammad Ali & the Indian wrestlers – Throwing medal in a river to register their protest

Refused service at the dinner at a ‘Whiles-Only’ restaurant and a fight with a white gang, forced Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, to throw his 1960 Rome Olympic gold medal into the Ohio River. The 18-year-old Olympic champion thought that his Olympic triumph would improve the rampant racism in America, but when he and his friend were denied dinner at a restaurant, the dejected boxer threw his prize possession in the river. And the Olympic medal-Ohio river episode became a stepping stone in making Muhammad Ali a legend.

Muhammad Ali was considered as one of the legends in the professional boxing, but it was his off-field stands clubbed with his sporting excellence that earned him a tag of ‘the greatest’.

In 1966, he refused to serve in the U.S. military because of his stand on the Vietnam War, beginning a crusade in which he brought attention to various causes. After Ali's refusal to join the army, he was even stripped of his world title and his boxing license was also suspended. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Later on, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction.

He travelled the world to promote peace and actively remained involved in the Olympic movement. At the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, he was the final torch bearer and lit the Olympic Flame. At the London 2012 Olympic Games, Ali was among a group that escorted the Olympic Flag into the stadium for the Opening Ceremony.

Ali passed away on June 3, 2016, after battling Parkinson’s disease. He was 74.

On Tuesday, Rio Olympic medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik wrote on her social media handle that all the protesting women wrestlers were going to throw their medals into the River Ganga.

The protesting wrestlers were detained on their way to the new Parliament building on Sunday. The protest site Jantar Mantar, too, was cleared of the protesters.

“These medals are dearer to us than our lives. But after what happened on Sunday (May 28), our life has been rendered meaningless,” Malik posted on her social media wall.