Vinesh Phogat on Thursday bid adieu to her international wrestling career, saying she doesn't have the strength to continue anymore. The 29-year-old, who was disqualified for being 100gm overweight ahead of her 50kg category gold medal bout in the olympics on Wednesday, announced her decision on social media, seeking forgiveness from everyone who supported her.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday came in support of the wrestler's retirement and said, "This girl is caught in this system...This girl is tired of fighting..." The leader who posted the message in Hindi, ended his thoughts with #SorryVinesh. On Wednesday, after the ace wrestler's disqualification, the Congress leader said, "Vinesh's triumph up to this point has been hugely impressive. She has shown courage, ability and a tremendous amount of determination...For me, she has won our hearts. I am very disappointed with this news about her technical disqualification. I don't know how such a thing could have happened, whether our coaches were found wanting in terms of ensuring all the rights rules and limits to adhere to. To me, the sad thing is that all her efforts did not get the reward that she deserved..."
Vinesh, the two-time world championships bronze-medallist, in an emotional adieu message, which was addressed to her mother Premlata and wrote, "Ma, wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken... I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive (me)."
Vinesh disqualified
An ad-hoc division of the CAS, which has been set up here for resolution of any disputes arising during the Olympic Games or during a period of 10 days preceding the Opening Ceremony, will take up her appeal in the next few hours. She spent a good part of the day at a polyclinic inside the Games village owing to severe dehydration caused by her desperate measures to make the cut, which included going hungry, avoiding fluids and staying up all night to sweat it out.
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