A representational image of a wrestling mat.
17-year-old Ritika Phogat, the cousin of renowned wrestling duo Geeta and Babita, allegedly committed suicide after facing a defeat in a wrestling tournament in Rajasthan.
In what came as a rude shock to the family on Wednesday, Ritika allegedly ended her life after she failed to bear the disappointment of the loss. She lost in the final of the tournament on March 14.
"Ritika, wrestler and cousin of Babita Phogat, died allegedly by suicide on March 17. The reason behind it might have been her defeat at a recent wrestling tournament in Rajasthan. Investigation underway," Charkhi Dadri DSP Ram Singh Bishnoi told ANI on Thursday morning.
Ritika participated in state-level sub-junior, junior women and men wrestling tournaments. She trained under Mahavir Singh Phogat, who also trained Geeta and Babita Phogat. He was also present at the tournament in which Ritika was participating, according to a report from India Today.
Geeta Phogat won India's first-ever gold medal in wrestling in the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Babita, meanwhile, repeated her sister's feat in the next edition of the CWG in 2014 in Glasgow.
She also won a silver medal in the 2018 CWG at Gold Coast in Australia.
Vinesh Phogat, meanwhile, is seen as one of India's brightest prospects for a gold medal at this year's Tokyo Olympics. She recently won a gold medal at 2021 Matteo Pelicone Ranking Series Event.
