In a heartfelt announcement, wrestler Vinesh Phogat declared her retirement, a day after being disqualified from the wrestling final at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Vinesh was disqualified from the 50 kg Women’s Wrestling Gold medal match for being overweight by just 100 grams.
In her emotional post on X, Vinesh expressed, “Ma Kusti (Mother Wrestling) won against me, I lost. Forgive me, your dream and my courage has been broken. I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024.” Despite her disqualification, she had won her semi-final bout with a decisive 5-0 margin, making history as the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for an Olympic final.
Following her disqualification, Vinesh has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking to be awarded the Silver medal for the event. The 29-year-old wrestler from Haryana has had an illustrious career, being a three-time Olympian competing in different weight categories across the Games: 48 kg in Rio 2016, 53 kg in Tokyo 2020, and 50 kg in Paris 2024.
Vinesh’s career boasts three Gold medals from the Commonwealth Games in 2014, 2018, and 2022, each in different weight categories. She also made history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win Gold at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in the same year, achieving this feat in 2018. Additionally, she has secured two bronze medals at the World Wrestling Championships in 2019 and 2022.
