Vinesh Phogat returns to grand welcome in India, her village in Haryana to celebrate with sweets
Fellow wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik were among those who welcomed her at the Delhi airport. Phogat had to stay back in Paris after she appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against her disqualification.
Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat returned to her home country on Saturday, ten days after she suffered heartbreak at the Paris Olympics when she was disqualified before her gold medal match for being overweight. Phogat arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Saturday, where she was welcomed by family and friends.
#WATCH | Wrestler Vinesh Phogat arrives at Delhi's IGI Airport from Paris after the Olympics.
¡ª ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2024
Congress MP Deepender Hooda and others welcome her at the airport. pic.twitter.com/7BbY2j5Zv0
Vinesh Phogat welcomed by family, friends
Fellow wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik were among those who welcomed her at the Delhi airport. Phogat had to stay back in Paris after she appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against her disqualification.
"Vinesh was, is, and will remain a fighter. She is a champion for us, and we are leaving no stone unturned to welcome her like a champion. We are treating her as a gold medallist," wrestler Satyawart Kadian said.
"What Vinesh has done for the country, very few people do. She should get more respect and appreciation," 2020 Olympic bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik said.
Vinesh Phogat thanks people for support
Upon arrival in India, the 29-year-old became emotional and broke down.
#WATCH | Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat breaks down as she arrives at Delhi's IGI Airport from Paris after participating in the #Olympics2024Paris. pic.twitter.com/ec73PQn7jG
¡ª ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2024
She also thanked people for their support.
"I thank all the countrymen, I am very fortunate," Phogat said.
#WATCH | Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat says, "I thank all the countrymen, I am very fortunate."
¡ª ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2024
She received a warm welcome at Delhi's IGI Airport after she arrived here from Paris after participating in the #Olympics2024Paris. pic.twitter.com/6WDTk8dejO
Celebrations in Phogat's village
Phogat will also be given a grand welcome at her native village in Balali in Haryana.
The village, which is home to some of India's best female wrestlers like Geeta, Babita, Ritu, Sangeeta, and Vinesh, is set to celebrate her homecoming.
Vinesh opens up about her journey
Earlier, in social media post, Phogat opened up about her struggles, and what Olympics meant for a small girl from a small village who dreamed about long hair, and flaunting a mobile phone.
"Olympic rings: as a small girl from a small village I did not know what was the Olympics or what these rings meant. As a small girl, I dream of things like long hair, flaunting a mobile phone in my hand and doing all these things that any young girl would normally dream of," she said.
She also spoke about her family's struggles, especially after the death of her father a bus driver who passed away when she was young and her mother's cancer diagnosis.
"My father, an ordinary bus driver, would tell me that one day he would see his daughter fly high in a plane while he would drive on the road below, that only I would turn my father's dreams into a reality. I do not want to say it, but I think I was his favourite child because I was the youngest of the three. When he used to tell me about this I used to laugh at the absurd thought of it, it did not mean much to me," she recalled.
According to Phogat, her mother only dreamt that all her children would one day will live a life better than she did.
"Her wishes and dreams were much more simple than my father's. But the day my father left us, all I was left with were his thoughts and words about flying in that plane. I was confused about its meaning then but held that dream close to me anyway. My mother's dream was now farther away because a couple of months after my father's death she was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. Here began the journey of three kids who would lose their childhood to support their single mother. Soon my dreams of long hair, a mobile phone faded as I faced the reality of life and got into the race of survival," she said.
She said that this race for survival taught her a lot and witnessing her mother's hardships, "never say die and fighting spirit" made her the person she is today.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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