Ace Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has withdrawn from the 19th Asian Games due to a knee injury she sustained during training on Sunday, August 13. Phogat, who won a gold medal in the Asian Games in 2018 in Jakarta, will no longer be participating in the event as she is set to undergo knee surgery in Mumbai on August 17. In place of Phogat, the 19-year-old wrestler, Antim Panghal, who was put in the standbys despite winning the trials is likely to participate in the event.
Informing the news, Phogat took to Twitter (X) saying, "Hi everyone! I wanted to share an extremely sad piece of news. A couple of days ago on 13th August 2023, I injured my left knee in training. After doing the scans and examinations, the doctor has said that unfortunately, surgery is the only option for me to recover.
"I will be undergoing surgery on 17th August in Mumbai. It was my dream to retain my Asian Games Gold medal for India which I won in 2018 at Jakarta. But unfortunately, this injury has ruled out my participation now. I have informed all concerned authorities immediately so that the Reserve player can be sent to the Asian Games.
"I would like to request all the fans to continue supporting me so that I can continue make a strong come back to the mat soon and prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Your support gives me a lot of strength," she further wrote.
The build-up to the Asian Games was marred by controversy as several wrestlers including Antim Panghal and Sujeet Kalkal and coaches protested against the exemption provided to Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat from the Asian Games trials in their respective weight categories. The decision by the ad-hoc committee of the Indian Olympic Association sparked outrage in the wrestling community as their direct entry raised questions over the fairness of selection for the marquee event. However, the Delhi High Court dismissed the petition challenging the exemption.
Full list of Indian wrestlers participating in the Asian Games 2023
Greco-Roman
Gyanender (60kg), Neeraj (67kg), Vikash (77kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Narinder Cheema (97kg), Naveen (130kg)
Women’s freestyle
Pooja Gehlot (50kg), Antim Panghal (53kg), Mansi Ahlawat (57kg), Sonam Malik (62kg), Radhika (68kg), Kiran (76kg)
Men’s freestyle
Aman Sehrawat (57kg) Bajrang Punia - 65kg (Vishal Kaliraman as standby), Yash (74kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Vicky (97kg), Sumit (125kg)
