Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was disqualified from the wrestling finals at the 2024 Olympics because of being overweight, has decided to return, breaking his retirement, and will now compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Vinesh was disqualified after weighing 100 grams more than the permissible limit in the morning weigh-in before the gold medal match. Though she appealed against the decision at the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS), there was no change in the conclusion.
Soon after the CAS verdict, Vinesh announced retirement on 8th August, 2024, one that she reversed more than a year later on Friday.
“People kept asking if Paris was the end. For a long time, I didn’t have the answer. I needed to step away from the mat, from the pressure, from the expectations, even from my own ambitions. For the first time in years, I allowed myself to breathe,” Vinesh wrote on Instagram.
“I took time to understand the weight of my journey, the highs, the heartbreaks, the sacrifices, the versions of me the world never saw. And somewhere in that reflection, I found the truth: I still love this sport. I still want to compete.”
“So here I am, stepping back toward LA28 with a heart that’s unafraid and a spirit that refuses to bow. And this time, I’m not walking alone; my son is joining my team, my biggest motivation, my little cheerleader on this road to the LA Olympics,” Vinesh added.
