Paris 2024: 'By getting to the Olympics, Vinesh is a winner already'
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India, Aug. 5 -- Sometime in December last year, days after Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh-backed Sanjay Singh faction swept the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat met at Sakshi's Delhi home, not too far from where the trio had staged a protest earlier that year. Sakshi had announced her retirement in an emotional press conference by then, Bajrang had returned his Padma Shri, and Vinesh had forfeited her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards. The mood, to put it mildly, was sullen."We were tired and broken, we had no idea what to do next. The mood. as we sat to discuss the future of our struggle, wasn't great" recalled Sakshi. In the course of the deliberation, it became clear that Vinesh still nurtured the desire for the Olympics glory. She had been to the Games twice but had to contend with a quarter-final finish on both tries. Her career boasted of successes at Commonwealth and Asian Games and two World Championships medals, but that missing Olympic medal gnawed at her."She said she wanted to give it a shot. She believed she still had enough time to do it, and me and Bajrang were more than happy to support her," Malik adds. Antim Panghal had already won a quota in Vinesh's pet 53kg class, so the 29-year-old decided to drop to the 50kg class."It was a big decision.
From cutting the weight to going back to training to start competing at the elite level, it was going to be very tough. But if anyone could do it, it had to be Vinesh.""She is what we call a kattar (hardcore) wrestler. She brings the same spirit to her life. She doesn't give up, that's something I have realised about her in so many years spent with her. Having taken on the might of Brij Bhushan , she knew she could take care of the mat," adds Malik.Eight months from that meeting, 12 months since she underwent surgery on her left knee, and 15 months after being mercilessly dragged and shoved on Delhi's streets, Vinesh finds herself in Paris, ready to star in her third, and possibly the final, Olympics. While her competitors have had the required mental, physical, and technical conditioning for the biggest stage, Vinesh had to summon soul-stirring strength to simply reach this far. And the journey hasn't even begun yet."The build-up has been far from ideal, but I back her to come home with a medal," says Bajrang, back in Sonepat after a short stint in the US."Vinesh is a winner. In my opinion, she is already a medallist. Her struggle is worth more than any medal," adds the four-time Worlds medallist. "I spoke to her over the weekend and she is in great mental space. Her knee is also fine and she is maintaining the weight nicely."Still, competing in the lowest weight division won't be a cakewalk. The younger, slippery wrestlers, particularly the Japanese, will be tough to get past but Vinesh, who has camped in Hungary with coach Woller Akos in the run-up to Paris, will draw some confidence from her triumph -- albeit in a depleted field -- at Grand Prix of Spain last month.In the more competitive field at the Budapest Ranking Series in June, Vinesh lost her quarter-final to China's Jiang Zhu. In Paris, she will open her campaign against defending champion and four-time world champion Yui Susaki.
The Japanese legend has never been beaten internationally, and her three career losses have come against compatriot Irie Yuki in various national trials."In our sport, a day lost in training sets us back by 7-10 days. You can well imagine how hard Vinesh has had to work to get here. She is in a very tough division but I back her to get a medal. She has enough experience to help her," Bajrang says."A lot of people want her to fail. She has copped a lot of online abuse and trolling. Mentally, she was put under immense pressure. But whenever she is pushed to the brink, Vinesh pushes back harder. She thrives when the going gets tough."On her part, Vinesh believes she has already fought her toughest bout. "I feel our fight against the system was the toughest bout of my life. An Olympic medal will be a nice addition but nothing comes close to the protest," she had told HT after qualifying for the Olympics. Bout of her life done, now for some action on the mat.
