Vinesh Phogat bids adieu to wrestling, appeals for joint silver medal
#News Bureau August 8,2024
A day after being disqualified from the Paris Olympics 2024, a dejected Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling through a social media post on Thursday morning. Vinesh wrote on Instagram – “Maa wrestling won me, I lost… Your dreams and my courage are broken. I have no more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I will always be indebted to all of you. Please forgive me.”
Vinesh was disqualified from the Paris Olympics on Wednesday morning for being overweight and her medal was taken away just hours before her historic gold medal match. The Indian wrestler was just 100 grams overweight. This was sheer injustice to an athlete, which hurt Vinesh.
29-year-old Vinesh had become the first Indian female wrestler to reach the final of the Olympic Games and secure at least a silver medal in the women’s 50 kg category. But circumstances did not favor her. Despite the efforts of her coach, support staff and the Indian Olympic Association, she was eliminated from the competition. This incident hurt her so much that she suffered from dehydration. She had to be taken to a polyclinic in the sports village.
Late Wednesday night, Vinesh appealed against her disqualification to the sports tribunal (CAS), demanding that she be awarded a joint silver medal after being ruled out for being 100 grams overweight at the morning weigh-in. That is, the player who came second and Vinesh should be declared equal winners and given the silver medal.
An ad hoc department of CAS has been set up in Paris to resolve through arbitration any dispute that arises during the Olympic Games or during the 10-day period before the opening ceremony. Cuban wrestler Yusnelis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh in the semi-finals, competed against American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the final and lost, but got the silver medal. Now if the tribunal also declares Vinesh as the joint winner, then Lopez and Vinesh can be declared joint winners of the silver medal.
However, wrestling’s international body United World Wrestling (UWW) has told the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) that the current weigh-in rule that led to Vinesh’s disqualification cannot be changed. “I have no complaint against it (India’s appeal), but I know the result. I don’t see anything that can be done. These are the rules of the competition and I really don’t think it’s possible (to overturn the decision),” UWW chief Nenad Lalovic told Indian reporters in Paris.
Reactions of players
Sakshi Malik, one of the closest friends of wrestler Vinesh Phogat, has reacted to Vinesh’s retirement. Sakshi and Vinesh jointly led the wrestlers’ protest against Wrestling Association of India chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh last year. Sakshi has written- ‘Vinesh, you have not lost, every daughter has lost for whom you fought and won. This is the defeat of the entire country of India. The country is with you. Salute to your struggle and passion as a player.’
Wrestler Bajrang Punia, one of the closest people to wrestler Vinesh Phogat, has also reacted. The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist tweeted, “Vinesh, you are not a loser. For us you will always be a winner, you are not only India’s daughter but also India’s pride.”
India’s two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu has posted an emotional message for Vinesh Phogat. Sindhu said- “Dear Vinesh Phogat, you will always be a champion in our eyes. I was hopeful that you could win the gold medal. The little time I spent with you at PDCSE saw a superhuman woman struggling to become better.”
