No strength; Vinesh Phogat retires after Olympic disqualification

Indian female wrestler Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement on Thursday, just one day after being disqualified from the gold medal match in the 50 kg women’s category at the Paris Olympics 2024.

The 29-year-old, the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic final, was just one match away from winning gold. Unfortunately, she was disqualified when the weigh-in revealed she was 100 grams over the weight limit.

In her retirement announcement on X (formerly Twitter), she wrote, “Mother, wrestling defeated me. I lost. Forgive me; your dream and my courage have been shattered. I don’t have the strength to continue. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024.”

Phogat won her semi-final match 5-0 against Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez. However, Lopez was later promoted to the final and won a silver medal. Sarah Hildebrandt from the US, who was supposed to face the Indian wrestler but ended up against the Cuban, won the gold medal with a 3-0 score.

Vinesh has asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to award her a joint silver medal. The decision is expected today.

She has competed in three different weight categories across three Olympics: the 48 kg category in Rio 2016, the 53 kg category in Tokyo 2020, and the 50 kg category in 2024. She has also won gold medals in the 2014, 2018, and 2022 Commonwealth Games in a different weight category.