New Delhi: Wrestler Vinesh Phogat received a heap of praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for her remarkable performance at the Olympics in Paris and for becoming the first female grappler from India to go to the final.
On Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a meeting and reception for Indian athletes and medal winners from the just-finished Paris Olympics at his residence located at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in the capital city.
While interacting with the Indian contingent from the Paris Olympics, PM Modi noted Vinesh's achievement and said, "Vinesh became the first Indian (woman) to reach the finals in wrestling, which is a matter of great pride for all of us."
Vinesh's historic feat suffered a nosedive as she was disqualified from the women's 50 kg gold medal bout at the Paris Olympics after being weighed "few grams over" the permissible limits on the morning of the final match.
Following the major heartbreak at the grand sporting arena, Vinesh took to social media to announce her decision to retire from wrestling.
The wrestler from Haryana has three Commonwealth Games golds, two World Championships bronze medals and one Asian Games gold medal to her name. She was also crowned Asian champion in 2021.
However, she appealed against her Olympic disqualification with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) and demanded a joint silver medal in the 50kg weight category.
But, the Ad-Hoc Division of the CAS dismissed Vinesh's petition against her disqualification, shattering her dream of clinching her maiden Olympic medal.
A total of 117 Indian athletes participated across 16 sports at the Paris Games: archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, wrestling, table tennis, and tennis.
India clinched six medals at the Paris Olympics, one silver and five bronze. Although hopes were high for a historic performance, the country fell just short of surpassing its previous best at the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when they secured seven medals (1 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze) and ranked 48th.
With inputs from IANS