Vinesh Phogat says 'goodbye wrestling' after Olympics disqualification

Following disqualification from the Olympics, Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat announced retirement along with a heart-breaking note on her X handle on Thursday.

“Mai kushti jeet gayi, main haar gayi (Wrestling has defeated me, I have lost)," Phogat posted on her X handle, News18 reported.

The 29-year-old’s retirement marks an end to her career spanning from 2001 to 2024. This also brings an end to an era in the Indian wrestling.

Earlier on Wednesday, the athlete was disqualified from the 50 kg freestyle final as she weighed 100g more than the permissible limit ahead of her gold medal match against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the United States.

The athlete continued expressing her disappointment by writing: “Maaf karna, aapka sapna, meri himmat sab toot chuke. Isse zyada taqat nahi rahi ab (Forgive me, I lost…..my courage is all broken, I don’t have any more strength now)."

The disappointed athlete added a period to her post by saying, “Alvida, kushti (goodbye wrestling).”

While being shattered by the turn of events, Phogat filed an appeal against her disappointing disqualification to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). She has requested for the silver medal as she defeated Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez by 5-0 and qualified for finals.

In this regard, CAS has acknowledged her appeal and might deliver its final verdict on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Indian athlete has been an honour for her country. She became the first Indian to reach the final round of a wrestling event at Olympics.

Previously, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha expressed disappointment over Phogat’s disqualification.

“After hearing the news that Vinesh Phogat is disqualified, I am shocked and disappointed. I had come here to meet Vinesh; she is physically and medically okay. Mentally, she is disappointed. Our support staff is with her, trying their best to help her reduce weight,” PT Usha said.