Vinesh Phogat expressed her doubts about returning to wrestling in an open letter on her X page on Friday, August 16. The ace Indian wrestler shocked her fans with a retirement decision after being disqualified at the Paris Olympics 2024 on August 7.
The 29-year-old Vinesh was also denied a silver medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) dismissed her plea on August 14. She weighed only 100 gms more before her women's 50kg final bout against USA's Sarah Hildebrandt and was disqualified by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and the United World Wrestling (UWW).
In her X post, Vinesh explained how she started her wrestling journey and also shared how she and her team fought against the time a night before her final bout on August 7.
"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."
Vinesh is reportedly set to return to India on August 17 and is expected to share some thoughts on her eventful Paris Olympics 2024 campaign.
