Vinesh Phogat at Paris 2024: From wrestlers protest in Delhi to historic Olympic gold medal match

From heading the wrestlers protest in Delhi in January 2023 to reaching the Paris Olympics final, here is all you need to know about Indian grappler Vinesh Phogat’s 18 month journey.

India’s Vinesh (right) celebrates after defeating Ukraine’s Oksana Livach during the women’s freestyle 50kg quarterfinal wrestling match. | Photo Credit: AP

Vinesh Phogat reached the finals of the women’s 50kg freestyle wrestling event by beating Cuba’s Yusleylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.

With this being her third Olympics campaign, Vinesh now holds the record for the most apperances in the quadrennial event by any female Indian wrestler.

Over the past 18 months, Vinesh has faced significant challenges, with the 29-year-old Indian wrestler participating in protests against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Here is a timeline of events that Vinesh has been embroiled in since January 2023:

January 2023:

On January 18, 2023, Vinesh, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and several other wrestlers gathered at Jantar Mantar to protest against the then WFI president Brij Bhushan, accusing him of sexual abuse and intimidation. They demanded his resignation and the dissolution of the WFI. On January 21, the wrestlers ended their protest after meeting with the then sports minister, Anurag Thakur, who assured them that an Oversight Committee (OC) would be formed to investigate the allegations.

April 2023:

The WFI announced that elections would be held in May following the submission of the OC report to the Sports Ministry, which led Vinesh to halt her plans to train in Sweden for the Asian Games and World Championships. On April 23, the wrestlers went back to Jantar Mantar to resume their protest.

FOLLOW | Wrestling Highlights, Paris 2024 Olympics updates

May 2023:

On the day of the inauguration of the new Parliament, Vinesh, Bajrang, Sakshi, and other protesting wrestlers were detained by the Delhi Police after initiating a march toward the building. Two days later, wrestlers went to Haridwar to immerse their medals in the river Ganga.

June 2023:

The wrestlers agreed to suspend their protest after the government assured them that the police investigation into Brij Bhushan would be completed and that the pending election would be held by June 30. “We will continue until we get justice, but our fight will now be in court, not on the road,” stated the wrestlers.

August 2023:

Vinesh, who had been given direct entry to the Asian Games, suffered a knee injury during training and will not be able to compete in the quadrennial event in Hangzhou. The ad-hoc committee appointed by the Indian Olympic Association exempted Olympic medallist Bajrang (65kg) and world medallist Vinesh (53kg) from participating in the Asian Games trials.

Meanwhile, Brij Bhushan and Vinesh blamed each other for the national federation’s suspension by United World Wrestling (UWW) due to the failure to hold elections within 45 days.

December 2023:

After Sanjay Singh, from the faction supporting Brij Bhushan, was elected as the new president of the WFI, Vinesh and her fellow wrestlers protested the result. Sakshi announced her retirement, while Vinesh and Bajrang returned their Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards to the government.

February 2024:

The UWW lifted the provisional suspension of the WFI but required the Federation to guarantee that no discriminatory action would be taken against Bajrang, Sakshi, or Vinesh. Things took a positive turn for Vinesh as she won gold in the 55kg category at the nationals, marking her return to competitive wrestling after nearly 16 months.

March 2024:

In an unusual development, Vinesh competed in two Olympic weights, 50kg and 53kg, on the same day and emerged as the winner in the lighter division in the selection trials for the Asian wrestling championships and Asian Olympic Games qualifier.

April 2024:

Vinesh had locked her Paris Olympics quota in women’s 50kg category by reaching the final at the Asian Olympic qualifier. She beat Laura Ganikyzy in the semifinal. WFI said that they would not conduct Olympic trials and the wrestlers who won the quota would compete in Paris.

August 2024:

The Indian grappler stunned the reigning Olympic champion and four-time World Champion, Yui Susaki of Japan 3-2 to qualify for quarterfinal. Later, she went on to defeat Oksana Livach of Ukraine to reach the Olympic semifinal for the first time before sealing a 5-0 win over Lopez Guzman of Cuba to ensure a medal for India.