Two-time World championships bronze medallist Vinesh Phogat is delighted to come back to competitive wrestling after nearly 16 months, when she dealt with a nagging injury and fought against ‘injustice.’
The 29-year-old, who last competed in the 2022 World championships where she landed her second bronze, tried to return for the Asian Games last year but could not. She had knee surgery in August and returned to training in December.
Now, with the Paris 2024 in sight, Vinesh, who took part in two Olympics, is back to competitive mode at the National wrestling championships at the Railway Stadium here.
A younger Antim Panghal has already sealed the Paris Olympics quota place in 53kg. The ad-hoc committee running the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has decided that there will be trials, where a challenger will be able to challenge the quota place winner for a ticket to Paris. Under this criterion, Vinesh can hope to make it to the Olympics.
Right now Vinesh is making a comeback in 55kg without straining her body too much. As and when she will participate in more important events, she can go down to 53kg.
“I am cutting weight after a long gap, and there is no need to do it (drastically). Competing in 55kg here has no positives or negatives. I will compete here to get some exposure. In ranking events, many athletes don’t compete in Olympic weights to avoid (unnecessary) weight cuts. The key is to save energy for main competitions,” said Vinesh on the eve of her event on Saturday.
With so many distractions, Vinesh – one of the three prominent faces who brought up various charges, including sexual harassment, against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and staged a spectacular protest – has perhaps learnt how to switch off and switch on for her training.
“We try to combine life on the mat and beyond it. As senior athletes, the responsibility increases... if we don’t do it, others cannot do it.
Fight continues
“I was continuously doing rehab. If we needed to meet someone, then Bajrang and Sakshi used to take that responsibility. I had stepped back a little bit even though we were together at every step. We are trying to continue our fight against injustice. Athletes’ competition should not stop and there should not be any confusion for the athletes.
“A lot has happened and a lot is going on in wrestling at the moment. This year is crucial given the Paris Olympics is in sight,” she added.
