India's Phogat ends retirement for another crack at Olympic glory
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FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Wrestling - Women's Freestyle 50kg Semifinal - Champ-de-Mars Arena, Paris, France - August 06, 2024. Vinesh Phogat of India gestures after winning the match against Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/ File Photo
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NEW DELHI, Dec 12 - India's Vinesh Phogat reversed her decision to retire on Friday, announcing a new chapter in a rollercoaster career that appeared to have ended with her dramatic disqualification on the eve of her gold medal bout at the Paris Olympics last year.
Despite starving herself for a week and spending hours in the sauna, Phogat was 100 grams overweight ahead of the women's 50kg freestyle final in Paris.
The former Asian and Commonwealth Games champion subsequently announced her retirement after she appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but could not get her disqualification overturned.
"People kept asking if Paris was the end. For a long time, I didn’t have the answer. I needed to step away from the mat, from the pressure, from the expectations, even from my own ambitions," Phogat wrote in a social media statement.
"I took time to understand the weight of my journey, the highs, the heartbreaks, the sacrifices, the versions of me the world never saw. And somewhere in that reflection, I found the truth: I still love this sport. I still want to compete."
Phogat has since successfully fought a state election and became a mother earlier this year.
She said "the fire never left" her.
"It was only buried under exhaustion and noise... No matter how far I walked away, a part of me stayed on the mat."
The 31-year-old was the face of a months-long protest in 2023 that led to the ousting of a powerful Indian wrestling federation chief following charges of sexual harassment against him levelled by several female wrestlers.
Phogat wanted to have another shot at Olympic glory at Los Angeles in 2028.
"So here I am, stepping back toward LA28 with a heart that’s unafraid and a spirit that refuses to bow.
"And this time, I’m not walking alone; my son is joining my team, my biggest motivation, my little cheerleader on this road to the LA Olympics." REUTERS
