Vinesh Phogat Announces Retirement: Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has announced her retirement from the sport following a heartbreaking disqualification from the Olympics. The 29-year-old was disqualified for being 100 grams overweight ahead of her 50kg category gold medal bout. Vinesh shared her emotional farewell on X, addressing her mother, Premlata, and expressing her deep regret and sorrow. She wrote, “Ma, wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken. I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive (me).”
Appeal and Controversy
Despite the setback, Vinesh appealed against her disqualification to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), seeking a joint silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had replaced her in the final. The American wrestler Sarah Ann Hildebrandt went on to win the gold.
Vinesh’s disqualification came after she was found to be overweight, having struggled with severe dehydration due to extreme measures to make the weight cut, including fasting, avoiding fluids, and staying up all night to sweat it out. The sport’s international governing body, United World Wrestling (UWW), has stated that the current weigh-in rule cannot be changed retrospectively.
Vinesh Phogat’s retirement marks the end of an illustrious career, including being the first Indian woman wrestler to reach a gold medal bout at the Olympics and winning gold medals in both the Asian and Commonwealth Games.