Abhinav Bindra, India’s first individual Olympics gold medallist in shooting, penned a message of support for Vinesh Phogat after meeting her at 2024 Paris Olympics, saying the wrester is someone who embodies the true spirit of a warrior. It comes after Vinesh announced her retirement from wrestling in wee hours of Thursday, August 8 due to being disqualified from women’s 50kg freestyle wrestling event, where she had made it to the final.
Vinesh, who had become the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympics final in wrestling, failed to make weight for the second weigh-in hours before her final on Wednesday, August 7, and was disqualified, thus losing out on an assured medal.
"Dear Vinesh, It is said that sport is a celebration of human will. I have known that to be true many times in my career but never has it resonated more than today. As I look around me, I see a nation and its people celebrate your unyielding resolve. You are a fighter – on and off the mat. Through you, we are learning what it means to never lose the fight in us, even as a loss weighs heavily. You embody the true spirit of a warrior," Bindra posted on X.
"Not all victories look alike. Some end up as a glittering souvenir in a cabinet but the ones that matter more find their way into the stories we tell our children. And every child in this country will know the champion you are. Every child will grow up wanting to face life with the resilience you have displayed. I thank you for that. Respect, Abhinav Bindra," he added.
Vinesh, hailing from the famous Phogat sisters family, has been a winner of three Commonwealth Games golds, two World Championships bronze medals and one Asian Games gold medal in her wrestling career, apart from winning the Asian championship in 2021.