Former Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat arrived in New Delhi on Saturday after being disqualified from the just-concluded 2024 Paris Olympics. Vinesh landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday, August 17, where thousands gathered to welcome her. Vinesh’s family members, including her mother, had arrived at the airport hours before the wrestler’s arrival. Security has been tightened at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in anticipation of Vinesh Phogat’s arrival in India on Saturday. Vinesh is also scheduled to leave for her village Balali later in the day.
Upon her arrival, thousands, including fellow wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, gathered at the airport to welcome her. In a viral video, Vinesh broke down in tears upon seeing her family and loved ones.
“I thank all my countrymen, I am very happy,” said Vinesh.
#REGARD | Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat collapses as she arrives at Delhi’s IGI airport from Paris after competing in the #Olympics2024Paris. pic.twitter.com/ec73PQn7jG
— ANI (@ANI) 17 August 2024
Vinesh had assured India of a medal after she reached the final of the women’s 50kg event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, in a heartbreaking twist of history, Vinesh was disqualified at the second weigh-in on the day of her gold medal bout as she weighed 100 grams too much. She had also asked to be given a shared silver medal but her request was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
On the eve of her arrival in India, Vinesh had expressed her deep sadness at not making it to the Olympic podium, linking her personal disappointment to the larger struggle for women’s rights in India, which she had also championed during her protests against the former chairman of the wrestling federation.
In a three-page letter posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Friday evening, Phogat hinted at a possible return to the sport in the future, but left the door ajar despite her earlier decision to retire from the sport.
The circumstances leading to Phogat’s disqualification were detailed by her coach Woller Akos, who described the intense efforts made to help her make the weight limit. Akos, who coached Phogat during the Paris Games, revealed in a now-deleted Facebook post that the wrestler went through a grueling and dangerous weight-cutting process the night before the final weigh-in.
“After the semifinals, she was still 2.7 kg overweight. We trained for an hour and twenty minutes, but there was still 1.5 kg left. Later, after 50 minutes in the sauna, there was not a drop of sweat left. She had no other choice and from midnight to 5:30 in the morning she trained on various cardio machines and wrestling exercises, about three quarters of an hour at a time, with two to three minutes of rest. Then she started again. She collapsed, but somehow we picked her up and she spent an hour in the sauna,” Akos wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post, adding: “I’m not intentionally writing dramatic details, but I just remember thinking she might die.”
(With IANS inputs)
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