Vinesh makes emotional return, gets welcome fit for a champion
ROHTAK : Wrestler Vinesh Phogat received a rousing reception as she returned home after a stellar show at the Paris Olympics which ended in a heartbreak as she was disqualified just ahead of her gold medal bout for weighing 100g more than the permissible limit.
Hundreds of supporters gathered outside the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport to show their solidarity even as Vinesh’s wrestling mates Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, along with khap leaders and Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda, received her.
Overwhelmed by the support, Vinesh told reporters, “I would like to thank the entire nation for the love and support. I am really lucky. It’s not over yet, the fight will continue.”
Vinesh’s mother Prem Lata, who had also come to receive her, said, “People have given my daughter more respect than a gold medal could get her. Residents
of Balali (her native village) are ready to honour her. My late husband, a bus driver, had dreamt of making Vinesh a pilot. He was confident that she would achieve great things in life. He would be so proud of her.”
The grappler’s mother also thanked wrestling coach Mahavir Phogat, who is Vinesh’s paternal uncle, for encouraging girls to take up the game.
Meanwhile, the grappler’s husband, Somveer Rathee, said Vinesh won’t reconsider her decision to retire. Citing lack of support from the wrestling foundation, he said, “We have been fighting for the last two years. We can’t fight anymore.”
Congress MP Deepender Hooda said, “Vinesh is a champion. People of the country are proud of her.”
The BJP had also planned to give her a grand welcome, but it had to call off its plans after the model code of conduct came into effect after the announcement of assembly elections.
Hooda and other Congress leaders stole the show by participating in the grappler’s roadshow from Delhi to Gurugram.
Meanwhile, Mahavir Phogat and his daughters Geeta and Babita were conspicuous by their absence. Later, Geeta’s husband Pawan Saroha took to social media site X and expressed displeasure over Vinesh missing out Mahavir Phogat’s name while mentioning people who shaped her life.
Vinesh, in an open letter, had thanked the Paris Olympic 2024 chef de mission Gagan Narang, her doctor, physiotherapist, mother, husband and others.
“Vinesh, aapne bahut hi badhiya likha hai, lekin shayad aaj aap apne tauji Mahavir Phogat ko bhool gaye hain. Jinhone aapki kushti zindagi ko shuru kiya tha. Bhagwan aapko shuddh buddhi de. (Vinesh, you have written very well, but perhaps today you forgot your uncle Mahavir Phogat, who helped launch your wrestling journey. May God grant you pure wisdom),” Saroha wrote on X.