Vinesh Phogat | Olympian, wrestler, new Haryana legislator

Olympian Vinesh Phogat has been announced as the winner from Julana in the Haryana Legislative Assembly polls

Seasoned wrestler and new entrant into the political field Vinesh Phogat will now be a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly, representing the constituency of Julana. Contesting on a Congress ticket, Vinesh Phogat won with a margin of 6,015 votes over her closest competitor, pilot Yogesh Kumar from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Considered one of India’s top wrestlers, Ms. Phogat announced her entry into politics after she retired from wrestling earlier this year, following an unfortunate disqualification ahead of the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics 2024. This marked her maiden electoral fight.

Notably her cousin Babita Kumari, also a top wrestler, had contested the Haryana legislative assembly polls in 2019 on a BJP ticket.

Haryana poll participation

On September 6, Vinesh Phogat and decorated Olympic wrestler Bajrang Punia both joined the Indian National Congress at the party’s Delhi headquarters. Mr. Punia was made the working President of the All India Kisan Congress. While he did not compete in the assembly polls, Vinesh Phogat was fielded as the candidate from Julana.

The constituency witnessed an interesting political contest with another wrestler in the fray— Aam Aadmi Party’s Kavita Dalal, a South Asian Games gold medallist and the first Indian woman to participate in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The others in the fray included Jannayak Janta Party’s Amarjeet Singh Dhanda, the sitting MLA, BJP’s Yogesh Bairagi, a professional pilot and the Indian National Lok Dal’s Surender Lather.

In the final tally, Ms. Phogat notched 65,080 votes to edge out Mr. Bairagi, the BJP candidate, by a margin of 6015. INLD’s Lather was in a distant third place.

While a novice to political office, Ms. Phogat has been vocal about social issues. She, along with fellow wrestlers Punia and Sakshi Malik, formed a pivotal part of the protests against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the former president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), for alleged sexual abuse of several women athletes over the years. She also expressed support for protests by farmers in Haryana demanding Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for various crops and the fulfillment of several promises made following the protests of 2020-21.

Ahead of the elections, political analysts noted that the popularity of wrestlers among Haryana’s public may work in favour of the Congress in general and Ms. Phogat in particular.

Sporting journey

Vinesh Phogat was born on August 25, 1994, in Balali village in Charkhi Dadri, Haryana. She lost her father at the tender age of nine. She belongs to one of India’s most celebrated wrestling families: her cousins Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari are internationally renowed wrestlers and she was introduced to the sport very young by her uncle Mahavir Singh Phogat, Dronacharya Awardee and wrestling coach of repute. While Geeta won a gold medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, both Geeta and Babita won bronze medals in the World championships in 2012.

When Vinesh stepped into the field, a few thought she was one of the Phogat sisters. Along with the other women wrestlers in her family, Ms. Phogat reportedly had to deal with opposition from locals who considered wrestling to be a man’s sport.

Ms. Phogat notched up her first international win with a bronze in the 51kg freestyle category at the 2013 Asian championships. She then won gold in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, following it up with two more golds in 2018 and 2022. Ms. Phogat became the first Indian woman wrestler to claim gold medals in both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games with her win in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. She has also won two bronze medals in World Championships, and one gold at the Asian Championships.

Ms. Phogat made her Olympic debut at the Rio Games in 2016, where she competed in the freestyle 48 kg category. Her journey, however, was marred when she dislocated her knee during a quarterfinal bout and had to be carried off the mat on a stretcher. Her outing at the subsequent Olympics (Tokyo 2020) was a wash, with her placing 9th in the women’s 53 kg freestyle category. She also faced a suspension after her return by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for indiscipline; this was later revoked.

The lead-up to the 2024 Olympics saw much upheaval in the Indian wrestling world. In 2023, Ms. Phogat, along with several other elite Indian wrestlers, protested against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the former president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), for allegedly sexually abusing several women wrestlers.

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Ms. Phogat sought to participate in the the 53kg category. This slot however went to Antim Panghal, and Vinesh competed in the 50kg selection trials, bagging a quota place. During the Games, Phogat made it to the finals, but was found to be 100g overweight on the morning of her gold medal match, causing her to be disqualified. Her appeal for a shared silver was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport

A day after her disqualification, Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling via a post on social media, writing “...I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling, 2001-2024.”

Post her retirement and induction into Congress, her uncle and former coach Mahavir Singh Phogat said he was “saddened” by his niece’s decision to join politics, saying that she could have done so after the 2028 Olympics.

On a personal front, Ms. Phogat is married to Somvir Rathee, who is also a wrestler. She resigned from her post with the Indian Railways soon after joining the Congress. She was employed as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) with the Northern Railways.

Published - October 08, 2024 04:53 pm IST