Vinesh makes comeback, targets LA 2028 Olympics

Vinesh Phogat has an almost obsessive desire to win an Olympic medal.

- Avishek Roy

She has always believed that only an Olympic medal can do justice to her talent and class.So, when she, frustrated by destiny, walked away from the mat just days after the dramatic disqualification on the morning of her final at the Paris Olympics for being overweight by just 100g, it seemed like a journey that had been brutally cut short.

Having endured heartbreaks in three Olympics since Rio 2016, she seemed broken. Her feeble frame in Paris, hair cut short to try and make weight, presented a forlorn picture of an athlete who in her career has summoned great courage just to be on the mat. It pained not just her but all of India.

On Friday, however, there was a glimmer of cheer. Vinesh made the bold announcement that many in the wrestling fraternity and those who know her expected—she is not prepared to quit the mat for good yet, not until she believes she is done; not until she gives herself another chance at winning an Olympic medal at Los Angeles 2028.