Phogat's Fortitude

At 22, Vinesh Phogat still has several years of competition left in her, and SHE IS DETERMINED to make up for the Rio tragedy with the biggest prize in Tokyo 2020.

- Uthra Ganesan

She was a favourite in the Rio Olympics. The way Vinesh Phogat began her campaign, with a technical knockout in just under five minutes, there was no doubt that the youngest of the Phogat sisters on the international stage was on way to becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal.

THAT WAS UNTIL A FREAK injury during her quarterfinal bout against Yanan Sun of China cruelly ended her dreams and the hopes of a billion back home. The 22-year-old wrestler, who received the Arjuna Award recently, is back home in Bhiwani and recuperating from the injury that forced her to go to the awards function in a wheelchair.

IT IS ALMOST A MONTH since she suffered the knee injury, but Vinesh is yet to come to terms with it. “Gaye the medal ka sochke, wapas wheelchair pe aye hain, normal kaise ho sakte hain itni jaldi (went with the hope of a medal but came back in a wheelchair, how can anyone become normal so soon after that),” she asks quietly, and there is no answer one can think of.