A couple of days after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) verdict dashed Vinesh Phogat’s final hopes of a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, the wrestler returned home to a rousing welcome in the national capital on Saturday.
Thousands of supporters assembled outside the IGI Airport, showing immense solidarity with her. Vinesh, who endured a heartbreaking disqualification for being 100 grams over the stipulated weight during the weigh-in on the morning of the 50kg women’s gold medal bout at the Paris Games, was received by brother Harvinder Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and panchayat leaders.
The overwhelming support turned the wrestler emotional as she broke down in tears before leaving the airport by waving at the crowds in an open four-wheeler that made its way through the national capital amid thick security to her native village, Balali, in Haryana.
“Although they didn’t give me the gold medal, people here have given me that. The love and the respect that I have received is more than 1,000 gold medals,” said an emotional Vinesh after reaching home amid loud cheers from the locals.
Hints at comeback
Vinesh, who had announced her retirement after her disqualification, shared an emotional post on Friday, where she had hinted of making a comeback to the sport that has defined her life, and where she has “unfinished business”.
“The goal that we were working towards and what we had planned to achieve is unfinished, that something might always remain missing, and that things might never be the same again,” she wrote.
“Maybe under different circumstances, I could see myself playing till 2032, because the fight in me and wrestling in me will always be there. I can’t predict what the future holds for me, and what awaits me in this journey next. But I am sure that I will continue to fight always for what I believe in and for the right thing,” she added.
In the three-page emotional social media post, Vinesh also expressed her gratitude to those who stood by her in her journey, and what stood out was the part where she mentioned Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, the Indian contingent’s Chief Medical Officer at the Paris Olympics.
Dr Pardiwala found himself targeted by social media users after he along with Indian Olympic Association Chief PT Usha had addressed the media following Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification for being 100 grams over the stipulated weight during the weigh-in on the morning of the 50kg women’s gold medal bout.
“Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala. This is not a new name in Indian sports. For me, and I think for many other Indian athletes, he is not just a doctor but an angel in disguise sent by god. When I had stopped believing in myself after facing injuries, it was his belief, work and faith in me that got me back on my feet again,” Vinesh Phogat wrote.
At Rio 2016, Vinesh’s Olympics had ended on a stretcher because of a gruesome injury she had sustained when China’s Sun Yunan fell on her foot in their quarter-final clash. It was Dr Pardiwala who had operated on her ACL at that stage and helped her comeback from that injury.
“Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala has operated on me not once but thrice (both knees and one elbow) and has shown me how resilient the human body can be. His dedication, kindness and honesty towards his work and towards Indian Sports is something no one will doubt including God. I’m forever grateful to him and his entire team for their work and dedication. As a part of the Indian contingent, having him present at the Paris Olympics was a god’s gift for all fellow athletes,” wrote Vinesh Phogat in her letter.
Vinesh also spoke about her attachment to the national flag and her regret of missing out on being on the Olympics podium while carrying it.
“During the wrestlers’ protest I was fighting hard to protect the sanctity of women in India, the sanctity and values of our Indian flag. But when I look at the pictures of me with the Indian flag from 28th May 2023, it haunts me,” she wrote.
Expressing regret over the close miss despite firmly putting herself for the silver medal position by reaching the final bout, she said: “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. I felt that by doing this it will correctly represent what the flag went through and what wrestling went through.”
In the note, Phogat also tried to recollect the anxious night of August 6 and the painful morning of August 7.
“There is so much more to say and so much more to tell but words will never be enough and maybe I will speak again when the time feels right. On the night of 6 August and the morning of 7 August, all I want to say is that we did not give up, our efforts did not stop, and we did not surrender but the clock stopped and the time was not fair. So was my fate,” she wrote.