Vinesh Phogat
Vinesh Phogat (born 25 August 1994) is an Indian wrestler who comes from a successful background of wrestling with her cousins Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari, both international wrestlers and Commonwealth Games medalists as well. She is married to Wrestler Somveer Rathi of village Bakhata Khera in Jind.
She is a three-time Olympian, having competed in three different weight classes: 48 kg in 2016, 53 kg in 2020, and 50 kg in 2024.
Early life
She is from village Balali, district Bhiwani in Haryana and is cousin of wrestler Geeta Phogat. Vinesh is the daughter of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat's younger brother Rajpal and the cousin of wrestlers Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari. Both her cousins have won gold in 55kg category in Commonwealth Games.
In allowing her cousins and herself to pursue competitive wrestling, her father and uncle had to deal with immense pressure and opposition from the community in their village in Haryana. They were adjudged as going against the morals and values of their community. Her cousin, Ritu Phogat, too is an international level wrestler and has won a gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship.
Career
2013 Asian Wrestling Championships - In the tournament in New Delhi, India, Vinesh won the bronze medal in the women's freestyle 51 kg category, winning 3:0 in the bronze medal bout through the repechage round to Tho-Kaew Sriprapa of Thailand.
In the first round, Vinesh won 3:1 against Nanami Irie of Japan. She then lost 1:3 in the quarter-finals to Tatyana Amanzhol of Kazakhstan who qualified for the final thus qualifying the Indian grappler for the repechage round.[6]
2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships - In an exclusive tournament held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Vinesh finished second and won the silver medal in the women's freestyle 51 kg category, losing in the final round to Odunayo Adekuoroye of Nigeria.[7] 2014 Commonwealth Games
2014 : Vinesh represented India in the women's freestyle 48 kg category at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and won the gold medal.[8]
In the quarter-finals, Vinesh faced Rosemary Nweke of Nigeria and beat her 5-0. Her semi-finals opponent was Jasmine Mian of Canada whom she beat 4-1. In the gold medal bout, she faced home favourite Yana Rattigan of England and won the gold medal, beating her 3-1.[9]
2014 Asian Games - At the Games in Incheon, South Korea, Vinesh won the bronze medal in the women's freestyle 48 kg category.[10]
In the Round of 16, Vinesh faced Yongmi Pak from the People's Republic of Korea and beat her 3:1. Her quarter-finals opponent was Dauletbike Yakhshimuratova of Uzbekistan whom she overcame easily with a 5:0 scoreline. She lost 1:3 in the semi-finals to Eri Tosaka of Japan but qualified for the bronze medal bout and beat Narangerel Eredenesukh of Mongolia to win 10-0 easily after referee stopped the bout (classification points 4:0).[11]
2015 : At the 2015 Asian Championships in Doha, Phogat won the silver medal in her category after losing the final to Yuki Irie of Japan.[12] In the qualifying tournament for the 2016 Rio Olympics held in Istanbul, she won in the final round beating Polish wrestler Iwona Matkowska, and qualified for the Olympics in the process.[13]
2016: At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio (Brazil), Vinesh reached the Quarter Finals and lost to Sun Yanan of China owing to a knee injury.
2017: Vinesh Phogat won Silver Medal in Asian Wrestling Championship 2017.
2018 Gold Coast CommonWealth Games - Vinesh Phogat won the gold medal in women's 50kg freestyle wrestling at 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
2020 - On 20 August 2020, it was announced that Vinesh Phogat has been selected for 2020 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
2018 Asian Games
Vinesh Phogat won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games and became first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in the Asian Games. Phogat beat Japan's Yuki Irie in Women's 50 kg Freestyle Wrestling gold medal match.
Marriage
Vinesh Phogat tied her knot with Somveer Rathi on 13 December 2018.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Vinesh Phogat also participated in Women's 53KG wrestling championship at Tokyo Olympic games in August 2021. (Tokyo-2020 Oympics were postponed for one year on account of COVID-19 pandemic and hence, were held in August 2021).
Commonwealth Games 2022
Vinesh Phogat defeated Sri Lanka wrestler for a gold in women's 53kg freestyle event. Hindustan Times, 8.8.2022
Fight for justice
Phogat was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards in 2019 and was the first Indian to get a nomination for the award. In 2023, she was part of the 2023 Indian wrestlers' protest against then president of Indian Wrestling Federation and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of sexual harassment by several female wrestlers.
In January 2023, Vinesh along with more than 30 Indian wrestlers that included Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Anshu Malik, organised a protest demanding the dissolution of WFI and action against its president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, after it was alleged that its coaches had been harassing female players sexually for years.[1] The protested were dropped after the Indian Government pledged to form an oversight committee to look into the claims.[2][3] In April 2023, the wrestlers returned to protests, claiming that the Government did not honor its commitments.[4] During the protests, Vinesh said that she informed the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur about the mental harassment, torture and threats to her life after she accused and reported Bhushan.[5] On 24 December 2023, the Sports Ministry suspended the newly elected WFI body led by Sanjay Singh citing the disregard for established policies and procedures.[6]
2024 Paris Olympics
In the 2024 Summer Olympics, she became the first international wrestler to defeat the then-reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki, on the way to becoming the first Indian female wrestler to reach an Olympic final. However, she was disqualified after exceeding the stipulated weight by 100 grams on the second day of her event. After her disqualification, she announced her retirement from the sport with immediate effect.
After her disqualification, Vinesh announced that she had appealed against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. She had demanded that she be awarded the joint silver medal in the event as she was within the legal weight limits during the first day of the bout. She also announced her retirement from the sport with immediate effect.
Elected MLA from Haryana
In Haryana Vidhan Sabha elections held on 5 October 2024, Vinesh was elected from Julana seat on BJP ticket, defeating her nearest rival Yogesh Kumar of BJP Party, by a margin of 6015 votes.
Also see
Gallery
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In praise of Vinesh and All Other difficult women, TOI, 10.08.2024
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References
- ↑ "Indian Olympic wrestlers detained as latest protest escalates". BBC News. 25 May 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023.
- ↑ "Vinesh Phogat accuses WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan of sexual harassment; wrestlers protest at Jantar Mantar". The Hindu. 18 January 2023. ISSN 0971-751X.
- ↑ "After No Govt Action, Wrestlers to Lodge FIRs Against WFI Chief Over Alleged Sexual Harassment". The Wire. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023.
- ↑ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (7 May 2023). "India's female wrestlers threaten to hand back Olympic medals in harassment row". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
- ↑ "Vinesh Phogat: India wrestler says she told PM Modi about harassment". 4 May 2023. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024.
- ↑ Vedika Sud, Rhea Mogul, Sania Farooqui (3 May 2023). "India's top female wrestlers are camping on the streets of New Delhi. Here's why". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023.
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