It has been an unimaginably tough last 10 days for Vinesh Phogat. She has gone through every possible emotion and beyond, an ordeal that no other sportsperson would like to go through but she is home at last. India did not need an Olympic medal to celebrate her. Vinesh Phogat was a champion, is a champion, and will always remain a champion - that's what those at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi made her feel when she landed Saturday morning from Paris.

There was a thick security cover as Vinesh landed in the national capital. Seeing hundreds of fans cheering her name, the 29-year-old Indian wrestler could not hold back her tears and broke down. She was consoled by teammates and friends Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik.

Heavily garlanded, Vinesh stood in an open Jeep and thanked all the supporters. "I thank the entire country," she said, her hands folded in humility. The huge caravan will follow Vinesh to her village Balali in Haryana.

Vinesh Phogat breaks down after landing at the Delhi airport

Vinesh was found 100 grams overweight on the day (August 7) of her historic gold medal bout in the women's 50kg wrestling. She was disqualified and stripped of a podium finish according to United World Wrestling and International Olympic Committee rules. All the hard work that Vinesh had put in the previous day, including an impossible victory against four-time world champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the first round and two more wins to become the first Indian female wrestler to advance to an Olympic final, were nullified.

All possible efforts from Vinesh's coaches, doctors and the Indian Olympic Association failed, but they didn't lose hope. Vinesh appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a joint silver medal. The hearing took place on August 9. After much back and forth - CAS deferred its verdict at least twice - CAS ruled against Vinesh, dismissing her plea on Wednesday.

Earlier, in an emotional post on social media, Vinesh shared her childhood dream and the hardships she faced after losing her father and also put on record the contribution made by people in her extraordinary journey that ended in heartbreak in Paris.

"....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, referring to the work she did with her team before the second-day weigh-in.

"To my team, my fellow Indians and my family, it feels like: 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.

A dejected Vinesh announced her retirement from wrestling a day after being disqualified from the Olympics, but on Friday, she gave a glimmer of hope to her fans.

"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 wrote.

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