An old social media post made by Vinesh Phogat against her critics has now gone viral, following her success at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
She had put up the post during the height of the wrestlers' protests in 2023 against alleged sexual harassment of female wrestlers by the former Wrestlers' Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
BET NOW: Exclusive sign-up offers and bonuses when you bet on sporting action
Phogat was one of the athletes spearheading the protest, alongside Olympian medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, for which she received plenty of hate from the politician's and his party's supporters.
In a shocking but proud moment for the country and herself, Phogat managed to defeat the Number 1 seeded and defending Olympics gold medalist, Yui Susaki of Japan, who had an undefeated streak of 82-0 in international events.
Competing in the Women's wrestling 50kg category, she then went on to beat Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semifinals, and with this, she is assured of at least a silver medal at the Paris 2024 games.
What did Vinesh Phogat tell her critics and Brij Bhushan Singh after wrestlers' protests?
An old post put up by the Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat in March 2023 has now gone viral with over 1.5 million views, following her success at the Paris games, where she became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the Olympic finals.
"Dear haters, I have so much more for you to be mad at. Just be patient," said the post, which in hindsight was a bold message to make at that point of time.
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) March 12, 2024
The post resurfaced after she kept her word as she hit back at her critics and haters with her performance on the mat, by winning an Olympic medal for the country.
"Queen inside and outside the Ring, just remembered who stayed with you in your tough time and who bullied you," said one user congratulating her, among many older comments which were largely critical of the wrestler.
Later during preparations ahead of the Olympic qualifiers, she sent out a strong message to Brij Bhushan once again, in November 2023, saying:
"The only thing I have told Bajrang [Punia] and Sakshi [Malik] is that I will still fight. I will look him [Brij Bhushan Singh] in the eye and medal leke aungi main, tu dekh [will bring back a medal and show it to him, you will see]. They both have Olympic medals, I don't. I have a reason to fight. If I train well, I can win a medal. No one can stop me."
Her desire and goal to win an Olympic medal for the country was both fuelled by both the fight for personal glory and against her critics, who had denied her protests seeking justice for her fellow female wrestlers.
MORE: Complete list of results and updates of Indians in events at Paris 2024 Olympics today
