January 2023, Vinesh Phogat was at the centre of a protest against then WFI head Brij Bhushan Singh. She was perceived as the rebel who took up a cause that did not belong to her. Without getting into who was right, and who was wrong, Vinesh received a lot of flak for being one of the faces of the protest, along with Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia.
At some level, the criticism also stemmed from the fact that she had not won an Olympic medal ever, unlike Sakshi and Bajrang. But that did not deter her at all. She did, what she had to do, without losing focus from wrestling. Amidst all this, she also underwent a surgery for a torn ligament.
Vinesh Phogat’s Struggle Until Paris Olympics
Surgery wasn’t the end of her woes. She had to fight the national trials in a weight category that wasn’t even hers. Finally, she aced every roadblock to enter the Paris Olympics, where once again, seeing the draw — Japanese Yui Sasuki in the first round — no one gave her a chance to go through.
But Vinesh had other plans, and she did a complete transformation in just eight hours.
Eight Hours is All it Took
At 3.04 PM, she came out for her first bout in the women’s 50 Kg category vs Sasuki, with hope in her eyes, in a bid to defy the odds. And by 3.10 PM, she had effected the biggest upset in wrestling history. With entire India in pleasant shock, Vinesh got ready for her next bout.
Come 4.19 PM, entire India knew Vinesh would win a medal, and so did the wrestler herself. The confident Indian then beat Ukraine’s Livach 7-5. Post that, though her semis bout was a little delayed, she came out at 10.42 PM, with only one mission, book a final berth. And that is exactly what she achieved, thus becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to enter an Olympics final.
The Backend Support
As per Viren Rasquinha, the OGQ chief, after Vinesh had the ACL surgery in August 2023, the ex-hockey player made a promise to get her in her best shape ever, and delivered. And here we are, on 6th August, 2024, India is assured of a silver medal.
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