Geeta And Babita’s Cousin, Ritika Phogat Allegedly Commits Suicide After Losing Wrestling Final

Ritika Phogat Suicide: Ritika lost the state-level sub-junior, junior women and men’s wrestling tournament final in Bharatpur. She allegedly committed suicide after her loss.

Image Source: Instagram/@geetaphogat

In a shocking development for the Indian sports fraternity, Ritika Phogat - the cousin of Olympian and Commonwealth Games winners Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat – allegedly committed suicide after losing her state-level sub-junior, junior women and men’s wrestling tournament final by just one point. She was 17 years old.

Ritika was playing at the Lohagarh Stadium in Bharatpur, Rajasthan on Wednesday. She was in the final of the state-level sub-junior, junior women and men’s wrestling tournament and lost the final by a narrow margin of one point. As per reports, she couldn’t bear the brunt of the loss and took her life. She took her life by hanging herself at 11 in the night as per reports.

Ritika Phogat was trained by Dronacharya Awardee Mahavir Singh Phogat. The coach was also present during the final in Bharatpur.

This would be a difficult time for the Phogat family who have been actively involved in the wrestling scenario in India. The movie ‘Dangal’ by Amir Khan highlighted the story of Geeta and Babita Phogat. Geeta is an Olympian and a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold –medal winner while Babita is a 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medal winner. Cousin Vinesh Phogat is also a freestyle wrestler and is one of India’s prime wrestlers who is bound to travel to Tokyo for 2021 Olympics.

Ritika Phogat’s death comes as a natural shock to the sports community in India.