Vinesh Phogat to be felicitated in Haryana as Olympic silver medalist
New Delhi: Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday said that Vinesh Phogat will be welcomed and felicitated like an Olympic medal winner and all respect, rewards and facilities that the state government gives to Olympic silver medalists "will be gratefully given to Vinesh Phogat as well."
Taking to social media platform X, the Haryana Chief Minister wrote, "Our brave daughter of Haryana, Vinesh Phogat, performed brilliantly and entered the finals of the Olympics. Due to some reasons, she may not have been able to play the final of the Olympics but she is a champion for all of us.
He further said "Our government has decided that Vinesh Phogat will be welcomed and felicitated like a medalist. All the respect, rewards and facilities that the Haryana government gives to the Olympic silver medalist will be gratefully given to Vinesh Phogat as well. We are proud of you Vinesh!"
In a big blow to India's medal hopes from the wrestling arena, the grappler was disqualified from the 50 kg women's wrestling event for breaching the weight mark. Vinesh was scheduled to take on the United States's Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the gold medal match on August 7.
Dramatic turn of events
Her long-cherished Olympic dream shattered by a cruel twist of fate, Vinesh Phogat on Thursday bid adieu to her international wrestling career, saying she doesn't have the strength to continue anymore.
The 29-year-old, who was disqualified for being 100gm overweight ahead of her 50kg category gold medal bout in the olympics on Wednesday, announced her decision on social media, seeking forgiveness from everyone who supported her.
Addressing her mother Premlata, Vinesh wrote, "Ma, wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken."
"I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive (me)," added the two-time world championships bronze-medallist.
Her stunning decision comes a day after Vinesh appealed against her disqualification from the Olympic finals on Wednesday in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), demanding that she be awarded a joint silver medal.
An ad-hoc division of the CAS, which has been set up here for resolution of any disputes arising during the Olympic Games or during a period of 10 days preceding the Opening Ceremony, will take up her appeal in the next few hours.
She spent a good part of the day at a polyclinic inside the Games village owing to severe dehydration caused by her desperate measures to make the cut, which included going hungry, avoiding fluids and staying up all night to sweat it out.
Cuban wrestler Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who lost to Vinesh in the semifinals, replaced her in the final against American Sarah Ann Hildebrandt.
Hildebrandt won the bout to claim gold and Vinesh is now banking on CAS to be a joint silver-medallist with Lopez.