Balali (Haryana): Overwhelmed by the grand welcome she received upon her return from the Paris Olympics, wrestler Vinesh Phogat said her fight against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will continue and hoped “truth will prevail.”
Hundreds of supporters gathered outside the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Saturday to give a grand welcome to Vinesh, who was disqualified for being overweight after reaching the 50kg final at the Olympics.
The ad hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Vinesh’s appeal against disqualification.
While travelling from Delhi to Balali, Vinesh was felicitated by her supporters and khap panchayats in several villages as it took her nearly 13 hours to cover the 135-km distance.
She reached her native village Balali around midnight and was given a grand welcome by the villagers. Her neighbours and friends welcomed her with tears and smiles and appreciated her courage.
Vinesh, exhausted after a tiring journey that began from Paris, addressed the gathering before ending the day.
Addressing the people, Vinesh said, “Our fight is not over and the fight will continue and I pray to God that truth will prevail.”
Vinesh had spent nights on the streets along with Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik during the protest at Jantar Mantar.
She had accused the then WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexually harassing women wrestlers. When she tried to march towards the new Parliament building, she was removed from there.
The hearing of the case against Brijbhushan is going on in a Delhi court.
Vinesh said the welcome she received upon arrival will give her the courage to move ahead in life.
“The love I received from my fellow Indians, my village and my family members gave me the courage to heal this wound. Maybe, I can make a comeback to wrestling,” the 29-year-old Vinesh said.
She said, “Missing the Olympic medal is the biggest wound of my life. I don’t know how long it will take for this wound to heal. I don’t know whether I will move forward in wrestling or not, but the courage I have got today, I want to use it in the right direction.”
Vinesh said that she did not know whether she deserved this honour or not.
“But I consider myself very lucky to be born in this village. I will always fight for the honour of women and this village.”
The two-time world championship medallist wanted someone from Balali to better her wrestling achievements.
Vinesh is a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Asian Games champion and has won eight Asian Championships medals.
She said, “I wish from my heart that someone from the village takes my legacy forward and breaks my record. If I can promote women wrestlers from my village, it will be my biggest achievement.”
“It will be disappointing if no wrestler emerges from this village. We have paved the way with your achievements. I request all of you to support the women of this village, they need support if they have to take our place.”
“They can achieve a lot. They just need your support. I will always be indebted to this country, this village. Whatever I have learnt, I will share with my sisters from this village and I wish that someone from this village breaks my record.”
After being disqualified, Vinesh had announced her retirement from the sport.
In an emotional post on social media, Vinesh shared her childhood dreams, the hardships she faced after losing her father and also recorded the contributions made by people in her extraordinary journey.
However, she did not mention her uncle Mahavir Phogat, which angered her cousins Geeta and Babita.
He expressed his disappointment through cryptic posts on social media.
Geeta wrote in Hindi on ‘X’, “The consequences of karma are simple. Cheating and deceit pay off, if not today then tomorrow.” She re-posted several comments questioning why Vinesh forgot to mention her uncle, who initiated her into the sport.
Geeta’s husband Pawan Saroha, who is also a wrestler, reminded Vinesh about Mahavir.
Saroha wrote, “You have written very well but maybe today you have forgotten your uncle Mahavir Phogat. Who started your wrestling career. May God give you wisdom.”
“Every success is a defeat if the only aim is to bring everyone down,” Babita wrote on ‘X’ on Saturday.