Exactly at the time when the whole of India was waiting for the gold medal match. Vinesh In the bout between Phogat and American wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt, shocking news came from Paris on Wednesday that the Indian wrestler was disqualified for being a mere 100 grams overweight.
And another sad news came early on Thursday morning when Vinesh announced her retirement from wrestling by posting on her official X handle.
Vinesh posted, “Maa, wrestling won, I lost. Forgive me, your dreams and my courage, all shattered. I don’t have any more strength left. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I will remain indebted to all of you. Please forgive me.”
Vinesh’s uncle and mentor Mahavir Phogat has said that she along with her sisters and acclaimed wrestler Bajrang Punia Will try to negotiate him out of retirement.
Vinesh comes from a family of wrestlers, a family that overcame odds and fought traditions to send its girls into wrestling in a male-dominated society and the state of Haryana, a family that has been burdened by the Aamir Khan Starrer’Dangal‘ was released in 2016.
Born on August 25, 1994 in Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, Vinesh was just nine years old when her father, Rajpal Singh, was shot dead in front of their house by a mentally unstable relative of the family.
At that time, Vinesh’s mother Premlata was 32 years old and she not only raised Vinesh, her elder brother and sister, but also fought a dangerous disease like cancer.
Mahavir Singh Phogat took Vinesh and her sister Priyanka under his wing and trained them in wrestling along with his four daughters Geeta, Babita, Ritu and Sangeeta.
An amateur wrestler and senior Olympic coach, Mahavir Phogat was honoured with the Dronacharya Award by the Government of India in 2016.
Despite the social pressures and challenges she faced in a male-dominated sport, she continued to train her daughters and stressed the importance of physical fitness and wrestling techniques.
The eldest daughter of Mahavir Phogat Geeta Phogat She is known for her achievements in freestyle wrestling in the 55 kg category and gained fame by winning the gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to achieve this feat.
Geeta won the bronze medal at the 2012 World Wrestling Championships in Canada and qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, making her the first Indian female wrestler to qualify for the Olympics.
Achievements:
- Commonwealth Games 2010: Gold Medal in 55 kg category.
- World Wrestling Championships 2012: Bronze Medal.
- Asian Wrestling Championships: Multiple medals including bronze in 2012 and 2015.
Geeta’s younger sister Babita competes in the freestyle wrestling category and has won several national and international medals.
Babita first gained major recognition at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, where she won a silver medal in the 51 kg category.
Babita won the gold medal in the 55kg category at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Babita also won a bronze medal at the 2012 World Wrestling Championships and participated in various other international competitions and won several awards.
Achievements:
- Commonwealth Games 2010: Silver medal in the 51 kg category.
- World Wrestling Championships 2012: Bronze Medal.
- Commonwealth Games 2014: Gold Medal in 55 kg category.
- Asian Wrestling Championships: Multiple medals including bronze in 2013 and 2019.
- Commonwealth Games 2018: Silver medal in the 53kg category.
ritu phogat Following the footsteps of her elder sisters Geeta and Babita, Ritu started her wrestling career. She won the gold medal in the 48 kg category at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships. Ritu proved her talent on the international stage by winning the silver medal at the 2017 Asian Wrestling Championships and the bronze medal at the 2017 Under-23 World Wrestling Championships.
In 2019, Ritu Phogat made a significant career change by moving from wrestling to mixed martial arts (MMA). She signed with ONE Championship, one of Asia’s biggest MMA organisations, to pursue her new career. Ritu made her professional MMA debut in November 2019 and has competed in several bouts since then, earning recognition for her skill and determination in the new sport.
Achievements in MMA:
- Ritu has demonstrated strong grappling and wrestling skills in MMA bouts, which have been her primary strengths.
- Ritu has racked up multiple wins in ONE Championship and has quickly risen in the atomweight division.
Ritu has displayed strong grappling and wrestling skills in her MMA bouts, which have been her primary strengths. She has earned multiple wins in ONE Championship, and is quickly rising through the ranks in the atomweight division.
Following in the footsteps of her elder sisters, Sangeeta Phogat took up wrestling and competed in the freestyle wrestling category and took part in various national and international competitions, earning recognition for her skills and performance.
Achievements:
- Sangeeta has won several medals in national level competitions, showcasing her potential as a wrestler.
- She is working to make her mark on the international wrestling scene, aiming to replicate the success of her sisters.
Sangeeta is married to Bajrang Punia, one of India’s top male wrestlers. Bajrang is an accomplished wrestler who has won medals at several international competitions including the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Wrestling Championships.
Vinesh’s sister Priyanka Phogat is also inspired by her cousins and started training in wrestling at a young age and competes in the freestyle wrestling category.
Achievements:
- Asian Wrestling Championships: Silver medal in the 55 kg category at the 2016 edition held in Bangkok, Thailand.
- National Championships: Several medals in national level competitions, which increased his reputation as an accomplished wrestler.
- International Competitions: Participation in many international wrestling competitions increased his experience and exposure.
It is this family legacy that has seen Vinesh Phogat become an extremely accomplished wrestler and achieve significant success at the international level.
Achievements:
- Commonwealth Games: Gold medal at the 2014 Glasgow and 2018 Gold Coast editions.
- Asian Games: Gold medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang edition.
- World Wrestling Championships: Bronze medal in the 2019 edition.
- Asian Wrestling Championships: Multiple medals including Gold, Silver and Bronze in different editions.
Olympics: Vinesh qualified for the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Vinesh suffered a major setback during the Rio 2016 Olympics when she suffered a serious knee injury during a match, ending her campaign.
In Paris, Vinesh became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final, but then misfortune struck.
