India’s grappler Vinesh Phogat is not sure when, if at all, she would return to the wrestling mat as she struggles to cope with the disappointment of her recently concluded Tokyo Olympics campaign.
Five years after being stretchered off the mat with a twisted knee in Rio, the 26-year-old was the top seed in the women’s 53-kg freestyle event in Tokyo. However, Belarusian Vanesa Kaladzinskaya shocked her in the quarter-finals and Phogat was accused of “indiscipline” by the Wrestling Federation of India on her return from Japan.
As the celebration continues across India after the country’s biggest medal haul in Tokyo, Phogat is grappling with a second Olympic disappointment.
“I knew that in India, you fall as fast as you rise. One medal (lost) and everything is finished,” she wrote in Friday’s Indian Express newspaper.
“I don’t know when I will return (to the mat). Maybe I won’t. I feel I was better off with that broken leg. I had something to correct. Now my body is not broken, but I’m truly broken.”
Phogat said she continued to feel the after-effects of a concussion she had suffered in 2017 and twice contracted COVID-19 in her build-up to Tokyo.
The two-time Commonwealth Games champion also battled mental health issues and spoke to a psychologist but felt enough attention was not paid to the issue in India.
“We celebrate Simone Biles as she said that I am not mentally prepared to perform at the Olympics and did not do her event,” she said, referring to the American gymnast who skipped most of her Olympic events in Tokyo to focus on her mental health.
“Try just saying that in India. Forget pulling out of wrestling, just try saying that you are not ready.”
Take a look at Phogat’s journey so far:
Who is Vinesh Phogat?
Vinesh Phogat, who was born on 25 August 1994 in Haryana, is the cousin of the famous ‘Dangal’ sisters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari. Vinesh has time and again lived up to everyone’s expectations by dominating several junior wrestling tournaments. Her uncle Mahavir Singh Phogat introduced her to the sport and the star wrestler was only nine years old when she lost her father. Vinesh made her Olympic debut in the 2016 edition of the Summer Games.
She married fellow wrestler and long-time boyfriend Somvir Rathee back in 2018. Rathee is a two-time national championships gold medal-winning grappler.
Top Achievements:
Vinesh is the first Indian wrestler to win gold at both Asian and Commonwealth Games.
In 2012, Vinesh had secured her maiden national title. Following her success at the 2013 Asian championships where she bagged the memorable bronze medal, Vinesh clinched gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and bronze at the 2014 Asian Games. Four years later, she repeated the feat as the wreslter once again bagged gold medals in the 2018 Commonwealth and Asian Games.
The Bhiwani wrestler is also the first Indian athlete to receive the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards in 2019. She secured her berth for the Tokyo Games by winning the bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships.
Career-threatening knee injury:
Vinesh Phogat suffered a career-threatening anterior cruciate ligament tear in her knee during the 2016 Rio Olympics. She had to be stretched off the mat as her maiden Olympics campaign ended in heartbreak after a fine start in the Round of 16.
Since then, the 26-year-old has worked hard to become tactically smarter and has won numerous medals after making a comeback.
Battle with depression:
Vinesh has revealed that she went through a bout of depression after changing her weight category in 2019.
“When in 2019 I changed weight, I was diagnosed with depression for three months. I came back to Lucknow, it became worse. If a coach even spoke in a slightly high tone, I would start crying. As an athlete, the mental pressure is so much that we are always on that thin line. When it crosses, we are done.”
Disappointing campaign at the Tokyo Olympics:
India’s biggest medal hope in wrestling, Vinesh Phogat started her campaign with a brilliant win as she defeated the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist from Sweden, Sofia Mattson, in her pre-quarterfinal bout.
However, world no. 1 Vinesh couldn’t continue her form and crashed out of the Tokyo Olympics after falling to victory by fall against Belarusian Vanesa Kaladzinskaya. Later, her hope of going into the repechage was crushed after Kaladzinskaya lost to two-time world medallist Qianyu Pang in the semifinals of the women’s 53KG event.
Suspended for indiscipline:
Vinesh Phogat has been suspended by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for her alleged indiscipline during Tokyo Olympics 2020. As per the federation, she did not wear the name of the official sponsor of the Indian team and also refused to stay along with the Indian contingent.
The federation had given a notice to Vinesh on three counts and gave her time until August 16 to answer the notice.
However, Phogat broke her silence and said that the real reason why she did not stay with the team was because of the risk of the coronavirus. She said that she did not want to risk her teammates with the virus and that is the reason she wanted to stay away from them for 2-3 days.
It is worth mentioning that while Vinesh didn’t train with the Indian wrestlers, she was staying in the Tokyo Olympics Athletes Village and followed the schedule of the wrestlers. There is no rule that says that she has to train with Indian wrestlers while at the Olympics.
