New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor today weighed in on Vinesh Phogat’s decision to retire from wrestling following her disqualification from the Paris Olympics 2024. In a poignant post on X, Tharoor expressed his support, stating in Hindi, “This girl is tired of this system… This girl is tired of fighting.”
Phogat announced her retirement after being disqualified for being 100 grams overweight, just hours before her gold medal match in the 50-kg freestyle category against the US’ Sarah Ann Hildebrandt. Phogat had made history as the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the gold medal bout and secured at least a silver medal.
In an emotional post on X, Phogat wrote, “Wrestling won the match against me, I lost… My courage is all broken, I don’t have any strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will forever be in your debt.”
Phogat, a three-time Olympian with gold medals from the Asian and Commonwealth Games, plans to appeal her disqualification to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking to be awarded a joint Olympic silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who replaced her in the final after losing to Phogat in the semifinals. The CAS verdict is anticipated today.
