The 29-year-old Vinesh was disqualified on the day of her gold-medal match for being 100gm overweight.Heartbroken, Vinesh announced her retirement from wrestling and then suffered another jolt when her appeal for a joint silver medal was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration of Sport.
However, she felt overwhelmed to see the kind of love and support she received upon her return home from Paris on Saturday. Such was the adulation of fans that it took Vinesh over 12 hours to reach her village Balali in the Charkhi Dadri district as people lined up to welcome her on the highway en route.
Vinesh had tears in her eyes seeing thousands of people at the airport, among whom were her close friends and fellow wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik. The trio were the central figures in the wrestling protest last year against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
“I just want to say that missing the Olympic medal is the biggest wound in my life,” Vinesh said upon reaching her village late on Saturday night. “As I got love from my fellow Indians, my village and my family members, I guess I would get some courage to make this wound heal. Maybe, I could return to wrestling.”
Earlier, her uncle Mahavir Phogat had said that he would urge Vinesh to not retire and prepare for the next Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I don’t know if I would pursue wrestling or not, but the kind of courage I got today (Saturday), I want to use that in the right direction,” said Vinesh.
The 2018 Asian Games gold medallist, who has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and two World Championships bronze, said the kind of welcome she has received despite the setback, it has given her a lot of courage.
She hoped that more girls from her village go on to represent India and even better her achievements.
“I want it from the bottom of my heart that somebody from the village carries my legacy and breaks my records. If I can promote women wrestlers of my village, it would be my biggest achievement,” said Vinesh.