Maybe Under Different Circumstances, I Could See Myself Playing Till 2032: Vinesh Phogat
New Delhi: Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat broke her silence with an emotional post after her disqualification from the Paris Olympics 2024.
The star wrestler, who became the first Indian woman to enter finals of the wrestling event, was disqualified for being 100gms overweight during the second weigh-in on the morning of the final.
Vinesh and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) approached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a joint silver medal but the appeal was dismissed.
In a three-page post on X, Vinesh recounted her early life, her father’s dream and her mother’s hardships and also her husband’s support. She said her mother taught her to fight for what is rightfully hers. “But survival taught me a lot. Seeing my mother's hardships, never-give-up attitude and fighting spirit is what makes me the way I am. She taught me to fight for what is rightfully mine,” she said.
She called her coach Woller Akos “the best coach, best guide and best human.” “He does not have the word impossible in his dictionary and he is always ready with a plan whenever we face a tough situation on or off the mat,” she said.
Vinesh Phogat said that she and her team never gave up and they never surrendered on the night of August 6.
“There is so much more to say and so much more to tell but words will never be enough and maybe I will speak again when the time feels right. On the night of 6th August and the morning of 7th August, all I want to say is that we did not give up, our efforts did not stop, and we did not surrender but the clock stopped and the time was not fair. “She wrote.
The star wrestler says she could see herself playing till 2032.
“So was my fate. To my team, my fellow Indians and my family, it feels like the goal that we were working towards and what we had planned to achieve is unfinished, that something might always remain missing, and that things might never be the same again. Maybe under different circumstances, I could see myself playing till 2032, because the fight in me and wrestling in me will always be there. I can't predict what the future holds for me, and what awaits me in this journey next, but I am sure that I will continue to fight always for what I believe in and for the right thing,” she further wrote.
