New Delhi: Following the major heartbreak at the grand sporting arena, Vinesh took to social media on Thursday morning to announce her decision to retire from wrestling. She posted an emotional message on X.
Vinesh was disqualified from the women’s 50 kg gold medal bout at the Paris Olympics because she weighed’ a few grams over’ the permissible limits. This unfortunate incident led to a major turning point in her career.
“Maa, wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken,” wrote a distraught Vinesh.
“I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive (me),” it read further.
Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh in the semifinals, replaced her in the final against American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt.
The 29-year-old has appealed against her Olympic disqualification with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) and has demanded a joint silver medal in the 50 kg weight category.
Vinesh, playing in her third Olympics, made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final at the Olympics. But her redemption story, following a disappointing performance in the Tokyo Olympics, ended in heartbreak as she was disqualified from the competition.
She was found to be 100 grams over the 50 kg limit, so she was ruled out of the competition and placed last as per United World Wrestling rules.
She stayed awake and worked tirelessly all night, along with her coach, support staff, and the Indian contingent’s chief medical officer, to shed the weight she had gained, replenish the vital fluids lost in the three bouts, and reach 50 kg, but to no avail; she was overweight by just 100 gm.
Vinesh was so dehydrated by her efforts that she had to be admitted to the polyclinic in the Games Village for IV drips.
The wrestler from Haryana has three Commonwealth Games golds, two World Championships bronze medals, and one Asian Games gold medal. She was also crowned Asian champion in 2021.
A former World No. 1 in 48 kg, Vinesh won her first major international title at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, claiming gold in the 48 kg category. More medals would follow Vinesh as she built towards her maiden Olympic experience in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
She missed out on a medal in the Rio Olympics because of an injury. Vinesh was stretchered off the mat in tears, her anguish and pain all too apparent; her medal dream was shattered.
Gold medals at both the 2018 CWG and Asian Games showcased her unwavering determination to reclaim her position before she boldly decided to move up to the 53kg category for the 2019 season.
Unfazed by the transition, she bagged a bronze medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships before clinching her maiden World Championships medal at Nur-Sultan in 2019, which secured her a place in the Tokyo Olympics.
In the Tokyo Olympics, she was seeded first in the women’s 53 kg division and began with a win over Sweden’s Sofia Mattsson. However, she lost her quarterfinal bout against Belarus’ Vanesa Kaladzinskaya and could not progress further.
–IANS
