Did Vinesh Phogat take a hasty decision?

Balali (Haryana), Sep 10: Could have Vinesh Phogat focussed on winning a Gold medal in 2028 Los Angeles Olympics than contesting the upcoming Assembly polls in her home state Haryana?

The opinions may vary. Joining the Congress party and testing her luck in the political battlefield was indeed a bold call by wrestler Vinesh. 

After her heartbreaking medal snub in Paris Olympics 2024, India's champion wrestler Vinesh was greeted like a champion back home. Many might not have imagined that she would prefer her next bout in the political battlefield than her years-long familiar wrestling rings.

But along with Tokyo Olympics Bronze medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia, she joined the Congress party and is all set to fight the Assembly polls in Haryana. 

Was her decision bit surprising and unexpected? Yes, there are a few including her childhood coach and uncle Mahavir Singh Phogat.  

After her medal Paris Games medal snub, Mahavir had gone on record saying that he is ready to work with Vinesh and get her ready for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Vinesh though had announced in Paris that she quit wrestling after her disqualification, but Mahavir was confident that he can pursue her to continue the sports and get ready for the next Olympics.

Expressing his dissatisfaction over Vinesh's decision to prefer politics to Olympics medal, Mahavir Singh in a recent media interaction stated that  she (Vinesh) should have focused on winning a Gold medal in 2028 Olympics instead of joining politics.

 He also clarified that the protests against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by Vinesh and other wrestlers was against an individual. That had nothing to do with the politics.

However, Mahavir Singh hopes his daughter Sangeeta may win a medal in 2028 Los Angeles Games. He is ready to do his level best to train, help and guide Sangeeta, he added. 

It can be recalled that Vinesh was disqualified before her Gold medal fight in Paris Olympics for being overweight. She was found 100 grams overweight on the day of her final fight.

She appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a joint Silver medal, which was eventually dismissed, much to her dismay and shock for crores of Indian sports lovers.