"For us, you will always be a winner" - Bajrang Punia consoles Vinesh Phogat after her retirement following Paris 2024 Olympics disqualification
Following her disqualification ahead of her gold medal match at the Paris Olympics 2024, Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement from professional wrestling on Thursday, August 8. Moved by her decision, fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia voiced his support and directed words of encouragement towards the 29-year-old.
Phogat’s announcement on Thursday morning was laden with emotion. Disqualified for being 100 grams overweight before her gold medal bout in the 50kg category, she remarked she no longer had the strength to continue.
“Wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken. I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive me,” Phogat wrote on in a heartfelt note on X.
Showing his support, Phogat's compatriot Bajrang Punia conveyed his sorrow over her disqualification and retirement.
“Vinesh, you haven't lost; you have been made to lose. For us, you will always be a winner. You are not only the daughter of India but also its pride,” Punia wrote.
Vinesh Phogat's struggle ends in heartbreak
Vinesh Phogat, who made history as the first Indian woman to reach the gold medal bout in wrestling, was guaranteed at least a silver medal before her disqualification on Wednesday.
The night before the final was a grueling ordeal for Phogat. After her semifinal victory, she found herself battling to reduce her weight from 52.7 kg to meet the 50kg limit.
She abstained from food and water and with her team’s support, spent the night in a sauna in a desperate attempt to shed the excess weight. Despite their relentless efforts, she weighed in at 50.1 kg the next morning, just 100 grams over the limit, which led to her disqualification.
Vinesh Phogat has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), requesting a joint silver medal. Despite her appeal, it was declared that the weigh-in rule cannot be altered.
Cuban wrestler Yusneylys Guzman, whom Vinesh defeated in the semifinals, took her place in the final against America's Sarah Hildebrandt, who went on to win the gold.