A dejected Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling via a social media post on Thursday morning, a day after being disqualified from the Paris Olympics 2024.
“Mother wrestling won against me, I lost… Your dreams and my courage are shattered. I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will forever be indebted to all of you. Please forgive (me),” she wrote on X.
The 29-year-old had become the first Indian female wrestler to advance to the finals of the Olympic Games and assure herself at least a silver medal in women’s 50kg.
However, she was found overweight in the mandatory weigh-in on the morning of her bout and was disqualified from the event despite the best efforts by her coaches, support staff and the Indian Olympic Association.