Wanted a podium in Paris to promote our flag and protests. Vinesh Phogat

Wanted a podium in Paris to promote our flag and protests. Vinesh Phogat

The wrestler proclaimed her retirement following the Olympics weigh-in incident, but in her letter on Friday, she hinted that she hasn’t fully given up on competing again.

TWO DAYS AFTER THE Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision ended Vinesh Phogat’s hopes of winning a silver medal at the Paris Games, the wrestler expressed her attachment to the national flag and her regret at missing out on being on the Olympics podium while carrying it in an emotional social media post on Friday.

Recalling last year’s protest against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and a photo frame of her lying on the street near Jantar Mantar next to the Tricolour, she said, “During the wrestlers’ protest, I was fighting hard to protect the sanctity of women in India, as well as the sanctity and values of our Indian flag.” But when I look at images of myself with the Indian flag from May 28, 2023, it haunts me,” she added.

By making it to the 50 kg final in Paris, Phogat was guaranteed at least a silver medal. However, on the morning of the final, it was discovered that she was 100 grams overweight, and she was disqualified.

“It was my wish to have the Indian flag fly high this Olympics, to have a picture of the Indian flag with me that truly represents its value and restores its sanctity,” she said, expressing sadness for the near miss. I believed that by taking this action, the experiences of wrestling and the flag would be accurately represented.

Phogat, who had declared her retirement following her disqualification, made hints toward the end of the three-page article that she would return to the sport that has defined her life and in which she feels she has “unfinished business.”

“We feel that something may always be missing, that things may never be the same again, and that the goal we were working toward and what we had planned to achieve is unfinished,” the woman wrote.

“If things had gone differently, I could see myself playing until 2032 because I will always have a fighting and wrestling part of me. I have no idea what this path will bring me next or what the future holds for me. She concluded the note, saying, “But I am certain that I will fight always for what I believe in and for the right thing.”

Her journey from a rural Haryana hamlet to the Olympic stage, her father’s death at the age of nine, and her mother’s unwavering support were all discussed in the article. She also expressed gratitude to the support team, coaches, and spouse Somvir.

Phogat also attempted to recall the nervous night of August 6 and the agonizing morning of August.7. Phogat is scheduled to return to India on Saturday. “Words can never express all that I have to say, but maybe I will speak again when the moment is perfect. There is so much more to say and convey. All I want to say is that we didn’t give up, we didn’t stop trying, and we didn’t surrender on the evening of August 6 and the morning of August 7, but the time wasn’t fair and the clock stopped. Thus was my destiny,” she penned.