A ligament tear. A category with less weight. A world champion who has never lost. Shortly after becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to secure a final spot at the Olympics, Abhinav Bindra aptly summarised Vinesh Phogat’s obstacles. Bindra, the first-ever gold medallist from India, neglected to highlight one more obstacle. one that, in May of last year, witnessed Vinesh Phogat being pushed, assaulted, and dragged through the streets of the nation’s capital.
Vinesh and her fellow wrestlers, which included Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, were engaged in combat elsewhere than on the wrestling mats. of calling for the WFI chief, BriJBhushan Sharan Singh, to be taken into custody. The wrestlers had accused him of harassing many female athletes sexually, sparking a national firestorm.
The wrestlers set up shop in Jantar Mantar, making the contest difficult. What came next were images that affected the whole country. Top athletes like Neeraj Chopra spoke out in favour of the wrestlers when police used force to detain them. “This saddens me to see. Neeraj posted on X, “There has to be a better way to handle this.
After the WFI was ultimately suspended, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh chose not to run in the elections, but Sanjay Singh, the newly elected WFI president, also encountered opposition.
In February 2024, Vinesh Phogat made his wrestling comeback and won the national championship in the 55kg weight class.
Then, in an unexpected turn of events, she participated in two weight classes in March—50 kg and 53 kg—and won the lighter division in the trials for the Asian wrestling championships and the Asian Olympic Games qualifying.
Vinesh qualified for the Asian Olympic qualifying final in April, earning an Olympic quota in the women’s 50kg division.
After a span of four months, Vinesh finds himself at the brink of history. Yui Susaki, the current Olympic champion and top Japanese player, has already suffered her first defeat in her international career at the hands of her. then triumphed over Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba after defeating Oksana Livach of Ukraine, the 2018 European champion.
On Thursday, Phogat, after all the turmoil both on and off the mat, will get down to action in the biggest match of her career. But she is already a champion.
