Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat is disqualified from the Women’s Wrestling 50 kg Class at the ongoing Paris Olympics. Phogat failed to meet the weight requirements, being 100 grams over the allowable weight limit.
Though it’s disheartening for Indians and fans worldwide, it doesn’t change the fact that she is a champion and always will be. Just 24 hours before this devastating judgment, India watched with bated breath as Phogat defeated the reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan (four-time world champion hailed as ‘invincible’) in the women’s 50 kg wrestling category at the ongoing Olympic Games 2024 in Paris.
With this win, Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final. She achieved what was deemed impossible.
Those who watched the match will possibly never forget the last few seconds where Susaki leading 2-0 lost her footing for a moment, a moment that Phogat capitalised on, and the match ended with a 3-2 victory with the 29-year-old Indian champion in the lead.
Phogat’s win is significant; both professional and personal.
Following the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (2021), Phogat was uncertain about whether she would return. Criticism about her performance and loss to Vanesa Kaladzinskaya of Belarus in the women’s freestyle 53 kg category left her disheartened. In an interview with The Indian Express, she had noted, “I am blank. I don’t know what is happening in life. Everyone outside is treating me like I am a dead thing.”
She also cited a concussion in 2017 as a possible cause for her performance. In the years that followed, things took a turn for the worse for the athlete.
The January 2023 images of Phogat along with her other wrestler counterparts (Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik) being dragged on the streets of Delhi, are still fresh in the minds of Indians. The wrestlers were demanding justice for women wrestlers and punishment for the sexual harassment accused.
Against this landscape of turmoil, uncertainty about Phogat participating in the Paris Olympics was rife. But she put an end to speculation and how!
Applause and praise
Following her win, the cheers for Phogat were deafening both in the stadium and outside. Indian Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra took to X to praise her, saying, “A torn ligament. A lower weight category. An unbeaten world champion. Nothing stands in her way”.
A torn ligament. A lower weight category. An unbeaten world champion. Nothing stands in her way. Can’t wait to cheer @Phogat_Vinesh as she goes for gold. Your resilience and strength inspire us all. What an inspiring day, here’s hoping for one more! 🌟🇮🇳 #Paris2024 #Wrestling… pic.twitter.com/3AZ56wKEEZ
— Abhinav A. Bindra OLY (@Abhinav_Bindra) August 6, 2024
Meanwhile, Bajrang Punia speaking to ESPN, said, “She [Phogat] told me, ‘I am fighting for the future generation of wrestlers; not for myself. My career is done and this is my last Olympics. I want to fight for the young women wrestlers’.”
Viren Rasquinha, former captain of the Indian Hockey Team took to X to share about the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) surgery Phogat had undergone following the tear in the ligament at the Rio 2016 Olympics. “We made a promise to get her in the best shape for Paris.”
17th Aug 2023 -ACL Surgery
— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) August 6, 2024
25th Aug 2023 -Vinesh 29th Birthday. We made a promise to get her in best shape for Paris
6th Aug 2024-Vinesh becomes the first Indian female wrestler to reach the final of the Olympics
I know she is only aiming for🥇
Stuff of dreams 🇮🇳 @OGQ_India pic.twitter.com/g33EiJaYGf
From Haryana to the Olympic stage
The journey from her hometown in India’s Haryana to the international stage has been undulating for Phogat.
Following the Rio 2016 Olympics, she made a comeback at the 2017 Asian Wrestling Championship where she won a silver medal, followed by a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
That same year, at the Asian Games in Indonesia, she became the first Indian woman to win a wrestling gold medal at the Asiad.
In 2019, she clinched a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships in Kazakhstan.
While the Tokyo Olympics and subsequent protests followed, in February this year, Phogat returned to the wrestling mat winning the nationals in the 55 kg category. In March she competed in two categories — 50 kg and 53 kg — and won hearts in the selection trials for the Asian wrestling championships and Asian Olympic Games qualifier. In April, she earned an Olympic quota in the women’s 50 kg category.
Right from her initial training days in Haryana to national and global stages, Phogat’s journey has been one of courage and grit. Her endeavour has always been to pave the way for the future generation of wrestlers who come after her.
Dare to dream big.
(Edited by Pranita Bhat)
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