“All I want to say is that we did not give up"
Vinesh Phogat has spoken out a week after being disqualified from the 50kg freestyle wrestling gold medal match at the 2024 Olympics.
Phogat was disqualified due to being “a few grams” over the weight limit.
She has now released a statement, expressing gratitude for her journey and disappointment for its end.
Phogat said her premature departure made her feel as though “what we had planned to achieve is unfinished”.
She explained: “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. So was my fate.
“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.”
Her statement came days after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected Phogat’s application to be awarded a shared silver medal.
Phogat had been slated to wrestle USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt for the gold medal.
She also credited her Olympic journey to the dreams of her late father as well as the resilience of her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer just after being widowed.
Vinesh Phogat continued: “When I think about courage, I think about her and it is this courage that helps me fight every fight without thinking about the outcome.”
She shared her appreciation for her loved ones, including her wrestler husband Somvir Rathee and coach Woller Akos.
She said: “These people and their faith in me was so strongly grounded, it is because of them that I could continue through the challenges and get through the past 2 years.”
In 2023, Phogat was involved in protests against the then-Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of harassing, groping and inappropriately contacting young female wrestlers.
He was charged with assault, stalking and sexual harassment in June 2023, but has repeatedly denied the allegations.
In her statement, Vinesh Phogat said:
“During the wrestlers’ protest, I was fighting hard to protect the sanctity of women in India, the sanctity and values of our Indian flag.
“But when I look at the pictures of me with the Indian flag from 28th May 2023, it haunts me.”
“It was my wish to have the Indian flag fly high this Olympics, to have a picture of the Indian flag with me that truly represents its value and restores its sanctity.
“I really was hoping to show that to my fellow Indians.”
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) August 16, 2024
The statement came as a surprise to fans, who had speculated that Phogat was retiring from wrestling.
In a since-deleted social media post, she had written:
“I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling, 2001-2024.”
However, it seems it won’t be the last fans hear of Vinesh Phogat.
Her recent statement included: “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.”
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