Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat returned to a grand welcome at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Saturday, August 17.
Phogat's hopes of returning home with her maiden Olympic medal were dashed after the Court of Arbitration for Sports dismissed her petition for a joint silver medal following her disqualification from the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics due to overweight issues.
Vinesh Phogat's disqualification from the Paris Olympics caused heartbreak among the Indian fans and sports fraternity as they had hopes of her winning the gold medal. The 29-year-old wrestler from Haryana had assured of at least a silver medal after her semifinal win against Yusneylys Guzman of Cuba in the women's 50kg category.
However, the assured silver medal slipped from her grasp after she failed to meet the permissible weight limit before the gold medal bout.
Despite heartbreaking end to her Paris Olympics' campaign, Vinesh Phogat has been given a hero welcome upon her arrival in New Delhi. In a video, Phogat can be seen emotional as she received a grand reception from the crowd, who was waiting outside the Delhi airport to welcome the Indian wrestler.
Another video went viral on social media, Vinesh Phogat broke into tears while he was hugging fellow Indian wrestler and 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik at the Delhi Airport. Sakhi Malik and Bajrang Punia was seen consoling Phogat, who was crying inconsolably after she received at the Delhi Airport from the Paris Olympics.
After the conclusion of Paris Olympics 2024, Vinesh Phogat stayed back in France capital as she was awaiting her verdict on Paris Olympics disqualification from the Court of Arbitration for Sports. After three delays to pronounce the judgement, the tribunal court for sports dismissed the petition for joint-silver medal as she reached the final after winning all three bouts before she was defaulted from the gold medal match for being 100 grams more than permissible weight limit of 50kg.
The recently concluded Paris Olympics was her third appearance at the Summer Games; having previously represented in 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
In her Olympic debut, Phogat had a heartbreaking end to her campaign after she suffered a knee injury. In the following edition of the Games, Vinesh was knocked out after losing in the quarterfinal bout.
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Balali Village awaits to welcome Vinesh Phogat
After landing in Delhi, Vinesh Phogat will be heading to Balali, her ancestral village in Haryana, to receive a grand welcome from the local community. The preparations to welcome are already underway as the villagers have been busy making sweets and decorations for the occasion.
Vinesh Phogat resides in Balali village where she was born and brought up. Phogat began her wrestling career at the age of young age of 9 under the guidance of her uncle Mahavir Singh Phogat, who took care of her niece after her father passed away. Phogat's return to her village is a moment of pride for the entire community, who have been waiting for her arrival.
Mahavir Singh Phogat said that Vinesh Phogat will be welcomed like a gold medalist to her village even through she returns with empty hand.
After Vinesh Phogat disqualified from the gold medal match, her semifinal opponent Yusneylys Guzman automatically qualified for the final but lost to Sarah Hildebrandt of the United States of America.
