Great Honour For Vinesh, She's The 1st Indian Nominated For Comeback Of The Year Category Of Laureus World Sports Awards
She certainly has earned it.
Two and half year after her career was nearly ended at the Rio Olympic Games, grappler Vinesh Phogat has created history as she becomes first Indian to be nominated in the 'Comeback of the year' category alongside golf great Tiger Woods, Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris, American alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn, Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Manyu, and Dutch para-snowboarding star Bibian Mentel-Spee.
Back home in Haryana's Balali village, her family has no clue that Vinesh has been nominated for such a prestigious award.
"You are the first one to give us the news. We were glued to the TV sets to watch the bout between Vinesh and Ritu," said Rahul, who was busy watching the match between Mumbai Marathi and Madhya Pradesh Yodha in the ongoing Pro wrestling League, where Vinesh is representing Mumbai, while Ritu is with the MP outfit. Vinesh has won the bout by 15-0 margin in the 53 kg weight category.
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"2018 was an amazing year for her. It is not easy for any athlete to make a comeback. I have seen her going through the pain, I must say she deserves all this," Rahul added.
Vinesh has a terrific 2018 in which she had won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, a silver at the Asian Championships in Bishkek and a gold at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
The last time an Indian sporting feat made its way to the Laureus World Sports Awards was in 2004, when the Indian Cricket Team and Pakistan Cricket Team shared the Laureus Sport for Good Award for playing an international match despite political tensions between the two countries.
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Her uncle Mahavir Phogat, the coach of 'Dangal' fame believes his niece has got a never say die attitude and she deserves every bit of her success.
"Rio ke baad kaafi tut gayi thi mhari chori, lekin ghutne ke surgery ke baad alag his pehalwan ban gayi hai. Bahut garv ho raha hai ab Tokyo me gold pakka hai (She was heart-broken after the Rio debacle, but after her knee surgery, she has become something else, she has become a different wrestler.
I am proud of her and I can assure you that she will win gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," Mahavir told TOI.