Vinesh Phogat opens up on retirement after returning home: ’Olympic incident is a deep wound, can’t say what I will do’

A day after returning to her village Balali in Haryana's Charkhi Dadri district from Paris, Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat on 18 August said that she will think about whether she wants to continue wrestling, but for now she can neither confirm or deny it.

Phogat on 7 August had appealed to CAS against her disqualification before the gold medal bout with USA' Sarah Hildebrandt at Paris Olympics and also sought a silver medal. However after days of delay, her plea was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 14 August.

Soon after her disqualification from the 50kg freestyle category, as she weighed just 100 grams more than the permissible limit, Phogat had announced her retirement from wrestling.

However, sections of society and eminent people requested her to change the decision.

Reacting on her retirement suspense, she for the first time said, as quoted by PTI, “This incident is a deep wound, and it will take time to heal. However, the love I have received from my fellow countrymen and my village will help me heal. I will think about whether I want to continue wrestling, but for now, I cannot say what I will do. The courage I have received from people will guide me in the right direction.”

Opens up on WFI:

Not only this, she also also spoke on issues related to her movement against Wrestling Federation of India and added it would continue, hoping “truth will prevail”.

She added, "The fight in life is very long, and our struggle is not over yet. We have been fighting a long battle for the past two years, and it will continue. We hope for the victory of truth."

In January, Phogat – first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in both Commonwealth and Asian Games – at the protest site in Jantar Mantar had accused former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and coaches of sexual harassment of women wrestlers.

She had also sought the government to intervene and appoint former wrestlers for different roles in WFI.

With agency inputs.