Paris 2024: Vinesh Phogat secures Olympics quota to prove she’s far from being finished

Vinesh Phogat might already be a two-time Olympian for India but it’s fair to say that her third Olympic quota which she won at the Asian Olympic qualifiers in Bishkek on Saturday might be her sweetest yet.

The 29-year-old beat Laura Ganikyzy of Kazakhstan by technical superiority with the scoreline reading 10-0 to win one of two Olympic quotas for the Paris Games with three months to go. Earlier in the day, Phogat beat Samnang Dit of Cambodia by fall and Miran Cheon of South Korea by technical superiority,

None of her opponents would qualify as the highest rung of those Phogat had fought and beaten over her illustrious career. But Phogat’s biggest battles were just in earning the right to compete in Bishkek.

She had last competed at an international competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

That had been followed by a bitter fight for several weeks on the streets of New Delhi as she, alongside wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, led an unprecedented protest against the erstwhile president of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of the sexual harassment of Indian wrestlers.

As he tried to defend himself from the charges, Brij Bhushan had accused the protestors of being ‘khatam (finished) wrestlers’ who were just trying to keep their spot on the Indian team by any means necessary.

When Phogat attempted to make a comeback after the protest was suspended, she picked up a serious ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear in her knee, for which she had to undergo surgery.

In her absence, India would find another claimant to what was then Phogat’s undisputed spot in the Indian roster in the 53kg category.

Although Phogat had won two bronze medals at the World Championships in this particular weight class, she had to rehabilitate her knee even as Junior World Champion Antim Phogat earned an Olympics quota and a world championships bronze medal in the women’s 53kg.

That meant when Phogat returned to action at the National Championships, earlier this year, and then subsequently, at the selection trials for the Olympic qualifiers, she was unable to compete in the 53kg category weight division.

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Phogat moved to the women’s 53kg category in 2019 after it had become increasingly hard for her to cut her weight down to feature in the 50kg category – in which she last competed at the Asian Games.

The shift had been made since forcibly reducing weight essentially through a process of starvation and water deprivation made her increasingly injury-prone.

Age, a lengthy protest leaving her unable to train and a major surgery, followed by a half-a-year-long rehabilitation made a successful return next to impossible.

According to Viren Rasquinha, CEO of Olympic Gold Quest who works with her, Phogat weighed 59kg following her surgery. While few doubted her quality as a wrestler, what was far more uncertain was her battle with the weighing scale.

While her draw at the Olympic qualifiers fell almost perfectly – she avoided Kim Song-Hyan, the Asian Games silver medallist of North Korea, in her pool, her biggest challenge came a few hours before the start of the competition when she had to make weight.

If she hadn’t been there, she wouldn’t even be allowed to wrestle. Back in 2016, back when she competed in the women’s 48kg division, Phogat had failed to qualify at the Asian Olympic qualifiers when she wasn’t able to make weight on time.

This time though, nothing was left to chance. She travelled separately from the Indian wrestling team with her personal coach Woller Akos and physiotherapist who managed her weight cut down to the gram.

At the weighing scale, Phogat weighed in at exactly 49.900 grams – the major battle had been won.

What followed was a systematic process to help her recover in time for the competition. This had also been planned for. Phogat had travelled with a personal sparring partner who gave her the confidence to safely warm up and practise her techniques.

Having won the quota, however, Phogat’s fight isn’t done yet. At the selection trials, Phogat controversially competed in both the women’s 50kg category and the 53kg category.

Although she has won a quota in the 50kg category, there’s no doubt that it will be much easier for her to compete in the 53kg category even if that means forgoing her chance to make use of the Olympic quota she’s already won.

Phogat will have to make that decision eventually. Regardless of what she chooses, she’s also made one answer very clear. She’s far from ‘finished’.