New Delhi: In a decision that is bound to bring cheers among sports lovers, Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has announced that she will come out of retirement and return to the mat to fight for that elusive medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
After a wonderful performance, a marginal weight issue had led to her disqualification from the Paris Olympics gold medal bout.
She quit the sport after returning to India and joined politics a day later. Vinesh said she needed time to reflect on her wrestling career.
“People kept asking if Paris was the end. For a long time, I didn’t have the answer. I needed to step away from the mat, from the pressure, from the expectations, even from my own ambitions. For the first time in years, I allowed myself to breathe,” Vinesh wrote in a post on X.
“I took time to understand the weight of my journey the highs, the heartbreaks, the sacrifices, the versions of me the world never saw. And somewhere in that reflection, I found the truth, I still love this sport. I still want to compete,” she added.
“In that silence, I found something I’d forgotten ‘the fire never left’. It was only bu
ried under exhaustion and noise. The discipline, the routine, the fight… it’s in my system. No matter how far I walked away, a part of me stayed on the mat. So here I am, stepping back toward LA28 with a heart that’s unafraid and a spirit that refuses to bow,” Vinesh said.
“And this time, I’m not walking alone. My son is joining my team, my biggest motivation, my little cheerleader on this road to the LA Olympics,” she ended with emotion.
Vinesh is India’s Asian Games gold medallist. She also scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic gold medal bout. Her landmark run included a stunning win over Japan’s four-time world champion Yui Susaki, setting up a dream title clash and guaranteeing India at least a silver. But just hours before the final, disaster struck. During the routine morning weigh-in, Vinesh was found to be 100 grams overweight and was disqualified from the competition.
Under United World Wrestling (UWW) regulations, failing a weigh-in at any stage of an event renders all previous results invalid. Vinesh appealed the decision, arguing that she at least deserved the silver medal she had earned by winning three bouts on Day 1. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected her plea, leaving her with no medal despite her historic performance, as reported by Hindustan Times.
After announcing her retirement, Vinesh joined the Congress and contested the Julana constituency in Jind, in the Haryana Assembly elections. She defeated BJP’s Yogesh Bajrangi and is now an MLA.