Vinesh Phogat hinted that a reversal of her retirement may be possible, following the rejection of her appeal to be awarded a silver medal at the Paris Olympics 2024.
Vinesh, who was disqualified for weighing 100 grams over the permissible limit on morning of her gold medal bout in Paris on August 7, said that she can't predict what the future holds for her, in a statement posted on her social media accounts on Wednesday evening.
"Maybe under different circumstances, I could see myself playing till 2032, because the fight in me and wrestling in me will always be there," Vinesh said.
Vinesh recounted how every effort was made in a sleepless night where drastic measures were taken to adhere to the weight, that she and her team did not give up, but that their efforts went in vain as the clock stopped.
"To my team, my fellow Indians and my family, it feels like the goal that we were working towards and what we had planned to achieve is unfinished, that something might always remain missing, and that things might never be the same again," she said.
- Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) August 16, 2024
Explained: Why was Vinesh Phogat disqualified from Paris Olympics? How does wrestling weigh-in work?
Vinesh said that she wanted to see the Indian flag flying high in Paris, especially after what she went through during the wrestlers' protests in May 2023.
"During the wrestlers protest I was fighting hard to protect the sanctity of women in India, the sanctity and values of our Indian flag," she said. "But when I look at the pictures of me with the Indian flag from 28* May 2023, it haunts me. It was my wish to have the Indian flag fly high this Olympics, to have a picture of the Indian flag with me that truly represents its value and restores its sanctity."
Vinesh also recounted her journey over the last couple of years, which have been eventful both on and off the mat. The protests against the former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, then the knee surgery that could have ended her Olympic dreams, and then the shattering blow in Paris that ended her Olympic dreams.