Vinesh Phogat claims lack of support after Olympic fiasco: No one called me
Vinesh Phogat said that she did not get enough support during her campaign in the Paris Olympics. The 30-year-old, who was in line to become India’s first gold medalist in wrestling in the history of the quadrennial event, was disqualified after being found 100 grams overweight before her 50kg final bout. Later, Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman replaced her in the final against USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt.
Vinesh had appealed for her silver medal to be retained, but the Court of Arbitration for Sports dismissed her appeal. The CAS upheld the decision which led to Vinesh returning empty-handed from Paris. The Indian Olympic Association had also reacted to the decision and said that it would be seeking legal recourse on the Vinesh matter.
“When you win a medal, everyone takes pictures with you and congratulates you. But before I reached the finals, I hadn’t received any calls. Afterward, I got a call saying they would support me, but I didn’t want to be turned into a public spectacle. If they genuinely cared, they could have quietly called me and said ‘We are with you’, that would have meant much more to me,” Vinesh Phogat told India Today.
Vinesh lashed out at PT Usha, questioning her about the reports of the probe by the committee formed after former IOA president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was alleged of harassment.
“No one called. I have heard about PT Usha since childhood as the ‘Udaan Pari’ and everyone knows her. But where are the reports from the committee she formed during our protest? To this day, no one knows what happened to those reports. It was her responsibility to protect athletes,” Vinesh said.
‘Nothing was fine’
Vinesh also said that when she was admitted to the hospital after her health deteriorated during the Olympics, pictures were taken and uploaded on social media without her consent.
“As fellow athletes, we expected them to stand by us, setting aside all else. And when I was admitted to the hospital in a semi-conscious state, they took pictures of me without my consent and posted them on social media, claiming I was fine when, in reality, nothing was fine.”
Vinesh also alleged that the Indian government did not provide her support, and it was through the Olympic Gold Quest that she got help.
“I’d like to ask what facilities did they actually provide me? Who gave me a coach? The government didn’t even provide me with a coach. All of it came from private sponsors like OGQ. They provided the coach, the physio, and handled all the finances. The government is lying,” Vinesh added.
After she was disqualified, Vinesh also retired from professional wrestling. She had also taken part in the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, but failed to bring home a medal.