Vinesh Phogat vows to continue fight against WFI, says truth will prevail

On her way to Balali from Delhi, Vinesh was felicitated by her supporters and 'khap' panchayats in several villages

Balali: Overwhelmed by the grand reception she received on her arrival from the Paris Olympics, wrestler Vinesh Phogat said that her fight against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) would continue and hoped that “truth will prevail”.

Hundreds of supporters had gathered outside the IGI airport here on Saturday to give a rousing welcome to Vinesh who was disqualified for being overweight after reaching the 50kg final at the Olympics. Vinesh’s appeal against her disqualification was rejected by the ad-hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

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On her way to Balali from Delhi, Vinesh was felicitated by her supporters and ‘khap’ panchayats in several villages as it took her almost 13 hours to cover 135 km. She reached her native village in Balali around midnight and was accorded a grand welcome by the villagers. Her neighbours and friends met her with tears and smiles and patted her for the courage she had shown.

Exhausted after a tiring journey that began in Paris, Vinesh addressed the gathering before calling it a day. “Our fight has not ended and the fight will continue and I pray to god that the truth will prevail,” said Vinesh while addressing the people.

During their sit-in at Jantar Mantar, Vinesh along with Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik had spent nights on the streets. They had accused the then WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment of women grapplers. They were evicted when they tried to march towards the new Parliament building.

The case against Brij Bhushan is being heard by a Delhi court. Vinesh said that the welcome she had received on arrival would give her the courage to pick up the threads and get on with life. “As I got love from my fellow Indians, my village and my family members, it would give me some courage to make this wound heal. Maybe, I could return to wrestling,” said the 29-year-old Vinesh.

“Missing the Olympic medal is the biggest wound in my life. I don’t know how much time it would take to heal this wound. I don’t know if I would pursue wrestling or not but the kind of courage I got today , I want to use that in the right direction,” she added. Vinesh said she does not know if she deserved the accolades or not.

“But I feel extremely lucky to be born in this village. I would always fight for the honour of the women and of this village,” she said. The two-time World Championships medallist wished that someone from Balali would better her wrestling achievements. She is a two-time CWG gold medallist, Asian Games champion and has won eight Asian Championships medals.

“I want it from the bottom of my heart that somebody from the village carries my legacy forward and breaks my records. If I can promote women wrestlers of my village, it would be my biggest achievement,” she said. “It would be disappointing if no wrestler emerged from this village. We have paved the way with your achievements. I request you all to support the women in this village, they need support if they have to replace us. They can achieve a lot. All they need is your support. I will always be indebted to this nation, this village. Whatever I have learnt, I will share with my sisters from this village and I wish someone from this village breaks my record.”

Vinesh had announced her retirement from the sport after her disqualification. In an emotional post on social media, Vinesh shared her childhood dream, the hardships she faced after losing her father, and also put on record the contribution made by people in her extraordinary journey. However, she did not mention her uncle Mahavir Phogat, something that irked her cousin sisters Geeta and Babita.

They expressed their disappointment in veiled social media posts. “The result of deeds is simple. Deceit gets deceit, if not today then tomorrow,” Geeta wrote on X in Hindi and re-posted several comments that questioned why Vinesh forgot to mention her uncle, who initiated her into the sport.

Geeta’s husband Pawan Saroha, also a wrestler, reminded Vinesh about Mahavir. “You have written very well but perhaps today you have forgotten your uncle Mahavir Phogat. Who started your wrestling career. May god give you pure wisdom,” wrote Saroha. “Every success is a defeat if the sole purpose is to bring everybody down,” Babita wrote on X on Saturday.