Vinesh Phogat followed the footsteps of her cousins Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari into wrestling
She made a splash in the Indian domestic wrestling scene with strong performances in the nationals
Vinesh enjoyed much success as a junior wrestler coming through the ranks including a bronze medal win at the Asian Senior Wrestling Championship in 2013
A major milestone for VInesh was winning gold in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
She topped the podium here a month before she turned 20, the first of many other accolades to come
Vinesh was slowly becoming one of the most prominent faces of what would be a golden generation of Indian wrestling in the international circuit
Wrestling’s success even triggered a league - Pro Wrestling League which Vinesh participated in
Her first Olympic journey unfolded in Rio and she was excited to bring home a life-changing medal. Just 22, she participated in thr 48kg category
However, that edition ended in heartbreak for the wrestler after she sustained a tear to her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee
She got surgery and even came to collect her Arjuna Award from President Pranab Mukherjee in a wheelchair
She made her way back to the mat. Among her results was a silver in the Asian Championships in New Delhi in 2017
Vinesh bounced back with a gold medal win in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. She participated in the 50kg category here
She then won gold in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, again in the 50kg category
Her next big event was the World Championships in Kazakhstan in 2019. She made the bronze medal bout via repechage
Vinesh won bronze in Nur Sultan to seal a quota in the Tokyo Olympics
She has an underwhelming run at the Tokyo Olympics, crashing out in the quarterfinals
She then won gold in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games in the women’s 53kg bracket
Her sights were firmly set on the 2024 Paris Games to cement her success internationally with some Olympic silverware too
Time which would have otherwise been spent in training was used for a bigger cause. A protest against the erstwhile Wrestling Federation of India and its chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
Vinesh, Bajrang and Sakshi were the faces of the protest against the administration, levelling serious allegations of abuse of power and sexual harassment
The wrestlers gathered at Jantar Mantar demanding Brij Bhushan’s resignation and the dissolution of the WFI
The wrestlers refused to budge from Jantar Mantar, sleeping and training at the venue until their demands were met
After a brief halt in protests, the wrestlers were back for a second protest stint in April, this time with double the fervour
Through the course of their demonstrations, the wrestlers got support from farmer groups, political parties and other sportspersons in India
On the day of the inauguration of the new Parliament in July, Vinesh, Bajrang, Sakshi, and other protesting wrestlers were detained by the Delhi Police after initiating a march toward the building
Later, 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
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
Vinesh, meanwhile, injured herself during training and missed out on the Hangzhou Asian Games
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
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.
Vinesh had locked her Paris Olympics quota in women’s 50kg category by reaching the final at the Asian Olympic qualifier
In the Paris Olympics, Vinesh got her campaign off to an electric start beating top seed Yui Susaki, who came into this bout with an 81-0 win record
Vinesh then beat Ukraine’s Oksana Livach in the quarterfinal
and Cuba’s Guzman Lopez in the semifinal to seal a place in the Olympic final, assuring herself and India of at least a silver medal
However, tragedy struck in the early hours of the morning of the final as Vinesh failed to make the needed weight for the final bout
She was overweight by 100g. Repeated requests for an extension of time were not heeded and she was disqualified as per international rules
Vinesh was hospitalised and monitored after suffering extreme exhaustion and dehydration with the IOA trying its best to appeal the decision
Vinesh then moved the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the disqualification, appealing for a joint-silver to be awarded
Before the verdict arrived, Vinesh had hung up her boots, calling time on a decorated and eventful wrestling career