Heartbroken: Vinesh Phogat announces retirement!
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New Delhi: Following the heartbreaking disqualification from Paris Olympics wrestling, Indian star grappler Vinesh Phogat, who was supposed to be the first woman to reach an Olympics wrestling final, announced her retirement from the sport on Wednesday. Phogat, who was one victory away from an Olympic gold, got disqualified on the day after she exceeded her weight category by 100 grams. She was competing in the women's 50kg freestyle wrestling.
Phogat lodged a protest at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and challenged her disqualification.
In a social media post, she said that wrestling won the final bout against her when she lost and broke all her courage.
"Wrestling won the match against me, and I lost. My courage is all broken, and I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will forever be in your debt."
Millions of Indians following Phogat's winning streak in Paris took spears to their hearts after the unfortunate development of 29-year-old Phogat getting disqualified. Many from the sporting fraternity rallied behind Vinesh's cause and asked her to work for the 2028 LA Games, continuing her pursuit of the shining medal.
Getting disqualified for being overweight by 100g, Phogat approached CAS for a joint silver medal. Her appeal will be taken into consideration on Thursday morning.
CAS had set up its ad-hoc division to resolve any dispute that arose in the Games 10 days before it started in Paris.
After her supposed victory in the semi-final, she would have been playing American Sarah Hildebrandt for the gold medal. It is learned that despite her resorting to extreme lengths to reduce her weight, such as starving herself for a week and spending hours in a sauna to cut weight, she exceeded 100g.
However, Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman Lopez fought Hildebrandt in the final and won 3-0 to take the gold.