Thank You Vinesh Phogat: The Golden Girl Of India Without A Gold Medal

Thank You Vinesh Phogat: As the Indian wrestler draws curtains over her career in the aftermath of Olympics heartbreak, we take a look at her legendary career. Read below.

Vinesh Phogat's underdog journey at Paris Olympics 2024 will arguably go down as one of the finest runs in the history of the sport

Source : PTI

Thank You Vinesh Phogat: A supreme athlete from Bhiwani, Haryana, aiming to go the distance, it is the story of the 29-year old Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who is not just a veteran of the sport, but an inspiring story of defying the odds. Vinesh Phogat, this morning, announced her retirement from the sport, and with that, a glorious and legendary career came to an end, but the legacy left behind will always be immortal. 

 

Troubled Childhood Of Vinesh Phogat

Born in Haryana on August 25, 1994, Vinesh Phogat belongs to a highly-popular family that has a rich history in wrestling. However, she was subject to adversities in early stages of her life, as she lost her father at eight. Her father was shot dead on the issue of land dispute. Mahavir Phogat, her uncle, then stepped up and took the eight-year-old under his wings, and trained her alongside her sisters, who then went on to make their name in the Women's Wrestling.

"My father had big dreams for us. He used to say that, one day, his daughters would wrestle professionally and he would watch from the crowd and cheer on. When he died, I was too young to understand what to feel, so the loss did not affect me a lot then. But, whenever my mother cried over his death, I would feel bad. Now that I am older, I understand that pain; I miss my father's presence. I sometimes wish he was there to watch me during competitions," said Vinesh Phogat, as reported by Olympics citing The Week.

 

First Step Towards Fame

Mahavir Phogat trained all the 6 Phogat sisters since their childhood. The sisters, namely Vinesh, Priyanka, alongside the four daughters of Mahavir Phogat — Geeta, Babita, Sangeeta, and Ritu, have represented the nation, but it is Vinesh Phogat, who became the biggest star out of the six sisters, as she qualified for the final of the Women's Freestyle 50kg at Olympics.

However, the journey has seen lots of ups and down. Disciple was instilled at a very young age, and that helped the sisters define and revolutionise Indian Women's Wrestling. Waking up at 4 in the morning, training everyday, Vinesh Phogat described it all.

"I was good at wrestling but I wasn't too keen on pursuing it. He [Mahavir] wanted an Olympic medal. We did not even know what that was. We used to wonder, 'Who is this Olympics?' We just wanted the Olympics to show up fast so that we could get a break from my uncle's strict training," said Vinesh Phogat, as reported by Olympics citing The Week.

 

Here's Why Vinesh Phogat Should Be Called 'The Golden Girl' Of Indian Women's Wrestling

Vinesh Phogat's life took a different route in 2023, as a long-standing issue of troubles within the WFI (Wrestling Federation of India) and the allegations of sexual assault and misconduct by the wrestlers were not being acted upon by the apex body of wrestling in India. Seeing the denial of action-taking process by the government on Brij Bhushan Singh, Vinesh Phogat, alongside many female wrestlers, organised a protest march towards the parliament.

Tempers had flared immensely and many wrestlers were detained by the Delhi Police, including Vinesh Phogat. Seeng the state of wrestling, Indian fans were immensely worried about the sport, as in one year's time, Olympics were about to take place.

Fast forward one year, after a series of trials, Ia bunch of Indian wrestlers took the flight for Paris, as they were all set to represent India at the Olympic Games 2024.

Inspite of having a natural body weight of around 55-56kg, she transformed herself immensely well for the 50kg category (3kg less than her regular 53kg category). Vinesh Phogat's first match was up against arguably the most dominant Women wrestler in the weight category on the planet, Susaki Yui of Japan.

The Indian wrestler did the unthinkable as she managed to defeat the reigning Olympic champion in the Round of 16, and the world was not ready for this result, but Vinesh Phogat was. With this result, India's hopes for a medal in the Women's Freestyle 50kg took a huge boost, and the 29-year old carried the momentum pretty well, by eliminating the world number 8 Livach Oksana of Ukraine in the quarter-final.

A convincing win over Cuba's Guzman Lopez Yusneylis in semis made Vinesh Phogat the first-ever Indian Women wrestler to compete for gold medal in the Olympics.

Alas! it took a technical failure for Vinesh Phogat to bow out of the competition, as she was recorded 'overweight' before her final against USA' Sarah Ann Hildebrandt by merely 100 grams. 

In short, we all can agree that the momentum Vinesh Phogat had, the calibre of opponents she defeated en route to the final, gold medal in Women's Wrestling for India at Olympics was now not just a dream, but a match away from becoming reality.

Inspite of the best efforts from IOA (Indian Olympic Association) and Government of India, the official decision could not be influenced or overturned, as the technical commitee stood firm on it's stand of disqualifying Vinesh Phogat.

We might not have a gold medal, but Vinesh Phogat, for her iconic run at the Paris Olympics 2024, will always be remebered as the 'Golden Girl Of India wihtout a Gold Medal'.

 

List Of Vinesh Phogat's Major Honours

• Paris Olympics 2024 Women's Freestyle 50kg Finalist (Before Disqualification)
• Asian Games Gold Medalist (2018)
• Asian Games Bronze Medalist (2014)
• Women's 53kg Asian Champion (2021)
• 3-Time Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist (2014: 48kg; 2018: 50kg; 2022: 53kg)
• 2022 World Championship Bronze Medalist (53kg)
• 2019 World Championship Bronze Medalist (53kg)
• First-ever Indian Women wrestler to win multipe medals at World Championships.
• Most appearances at Olympics by any Indian Women wrestler.