Vinesh Phogat makes comeback aiming for LA 2028 gold

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has taken back her retirement and announced she will return to the mat to chase an elusive medal at the 2028 LA Olympics. Just a day after leaving wrestling following her heartbreaking disqualification from the Paris Olympic gold bout, Vinesh Phogat entered politics, saying she needed time to reflect on her journey. For a long time, she couldn’t answer when people asked whether Paris marked the end of her career. Stepping away from the mat, the pressure, the expectations, and even her own ambitions gave her the space to breathe freely for the first time in years.Now she says she is ready to fight again.

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Phogat said she took time to understand the weight of her journey the highs, heartbreaks, sacrifices and the unseen versions of herself and realised she still loves wrestling and wants to compete. In an X post on Friday, she wrote that silence helped her rediscover a fire she had buried under exhaustion and noise, and the discipline, routine and fight still flow naturally through her. She said that even when she walked away, a part of her always stayed on the mat, and now she steps toward LA28 with courage and an unshaken spirit. Vinesh also shared that she will begin this new chapter with her son by her side as her biggest motivation and constant cheerleader on the road to the LA Olympics.

Vinesh’s dream Olympic run ends abruptly as she shifts focus to politics

Vinesh Phogat, India’s Asian Games gold medallist, created history as the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic gold medal bout after a brilliant run that included a stunning win over Japan’s four-time world champion Yui Susaki. Her dream ended suddenly when officials found her 100 grams overweight during the final-day weigh-in and removed her under UWW rules. She sought the silver she earned with three wins, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected her appeal. After returning to a huge welcome in India, Vinesh entered politics with the Congress and won the Haryana assembly seat from Julana, following a path her cousin Babita Phogat once attempted.

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