Indian Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat returned back to India after her plea for a silver medal was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS).
The 29-year-old wrestler had later announced her retirement from the sport via a social media, after being disqualified from the Paris 2024 Olympics due to being overweight by 100 grams during weigh-in ahead of her gold medal match.
Phogat, who had competed in the Women's wrestling freestyle 50kg event, had qualified to the finals after beating the number 1 seeded wrestler in the event. However, she has now returned back home after failing to secure any medal.
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WATCH: India wrestler Vinesh Phogat left in tears with emotional welcome back home after Olympic heartbreak
Vinesh Phogat received an emotional welcome on her return back to India, which left her in tears.
She was joined together by wrestlers and Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, who had come to receive her at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, in New Delhi.
The two wrestlers had also supported her during the wrestler's protest in 2023.
#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/T6LcZzO4tT
— ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2024
MORE: What happened in Vinesh Phogat's CAS hearing?
What did Neeraj Chopra say about Vinesh Phogat's appeal for an Olympic silver medal after disqualification at Paris 2024 games?
Neeraj Chopra, who won the silver medal at the Men's javelin throw in the Paris 2024 Olympics had said that the country needs to support Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat after heartbreak, which saw her get disqualified from competing in her gold medal match event, due to being overweight by 100 grams.
"If she gets the medal, it would be very good. If things had not turned out the way they did, a medal was guaranteed for her. I hope she gets it because if you don't have it around your neck, we have some regret in our heart, people remember us for some time and say we are their champions but if we don't get the medal they forget us as well," the 26-year-old told reporters
"Today people might say we are champions but, I feel that unless we are on the podium they will forget after a few days. Mujhe yeh darr hai bas. Agar aisa na hota [I am afraid of that bit, if she doesn't get medal]. I hope she gets the medal, but I just hope that whether she gets the medal or not, people don't forget what Vinesh did for the country," he added.
MORE: How Aman Sehrawat lost 4.6kg before the wrestling bronze medal match weigh-in