Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has dropped another update on her future after returning to Delhi from the Paris Olympic Games. Vinesh, who had retired from wrestling after the Paris Olympics heartbreak, has hinted at a potential return to the sport after seeing the love from the fellow Indians on her arrival back home.
Vinesh returned to India on Saturday, and fans gave her a rousing welcome at the IGI airport in Delhi. She met her fellow wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia and Congress MP Deepender Hooda at the airport before breaking down.
"As I got love from my fellow Indians, my village and my family members, I guess I would get some courage to make this wound heal. Maybe, I could return to wrestling," Vinesh said to the crowd gathered.
She claimed that she is not sure about her future. "I just want to say that missing the Olympic medal is the biggest wound in my life. I don't know how much time it would take to heal this wound. I don't know if I would pursue wrestling or not but the kind of courage I got today (Saturday), I want to use that in the right direction," she added.
The wrestler has gone through a tough time on and off the mat. She missed out on a potential gold medal after being found overweight by 100 grams on the day of her final.
Vinesh also protested against the then Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for his alleged sexual harassment of women grapplers. "Our fight has not ended and the fight will continue and I pray to god that the truth will prevail," she said.
The wrestler had announced her retirement from the sport after missing out on a historic medal at the Games. She had filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but was denied a joint-silver. She had recently penned an open letter hinting at a possible return.
"There is so much more to say and so much more to tell but words will never be enough and maybe I will speak again when the time feels right," Vinesh wrote in her X post. "On the night of 6th August and the morning of 7th August, 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. 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."
Vinesh also admitted that she could have played till 2032 under different circumstances. The crestfallen wrestler finished the letter by saying she would keep fighting for the right thing.
"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."
