Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Vinesh Phogat for her brilliant performances at the recently concluded quadrennial event, although she did fall short of winning a medal. It should be noted here that Phogat scripted history by qualifying for the women's 50kg freestyle summit clash by defeating Cuba's Yusneylys Guzmán.
She also became the first Indian woman grappler to have qualified for the summit clash at the Olympics. But her dream run came to an agonizing end as she was disqualified on the morning of the gold medal bout as she was 100g overweight over the permissible limit.
That's why she finished in the last position in the points table of the event Yusneylys Guzmán directly qualified for the final, where she locked horns with Sarah Hildebrandt. After her disqualification, Vinesh also appealed to the CAS challenging IOC and UWW's decision.
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But her efforts went in vain as the CAS dismissed her plea. She might have failed to win the joint silver medal, but the Indian sporting fraternity heaped praises on the grappler for her brilliant performances at the Paris Olympics.
PM Modi also lauded Phogat for her brilliant performances while hosting the Indian contingent at his residence on the Independence Day on Thursday.
“Vinesh became the first Indian woman to reach the wrestling finals. It is a moment of great pride for us," PM Modi was heard as saying in the event.
Watch the video here:
Vinesh Phogat's remarkable campaign in Paris
At the same time, Phogat retired from the sport, just a day after she was disqualified from the weigh-in. She was having a dream run in Paris, Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Yui Susaki in the first round. She ended Susaki's brilliant unbeaten 82-0 record in international tournaments after defeating her by 3-2. Phogat is currently in Paris and will most likely return to India on August 17.
She finally reacted to the CAS ruling by posting a photo of her lying on the mat after one of her matches. Mahavir Phogat, who is her uncle, revealed that Vinesh would be welcomed like a gold medalist, once she comes back to Haryana.