'Your struggle and challenges will be remembered for centuries', says Ritu Phogat after Vinesh retires

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The nation woke up to shocking news of Vinesh Phogat's retirement following her Paris Olympics disqualification, which left the wrestling world in shock. Reacting to the 29-year-old's decision, her cousin Ritu Phogat said Vinesh's challenging wrestling journey will be remembered for ages.

Vinesh announced her retirement on Thursday morning (local time), hours after her disqualification from the 50kg wrestling gold medal bout due to being found 100 grams over the permissible weight limit during the weigh-in.

"Aapka ye sangharshpoorna kushti ka safar aur chunautiyaan sadiyon tak yaad rakhi jayegi. Aapka naam itihaas mein swarn aksharon mei likha jayega. Aap karodhon ladkiyon ki prerna ho, ummed ho, jeet ho. Humei aap par garv hai (Your struggles and challenges in wrestling will be remembered for centuries! Your name will be written in golden letters in history. You are the inspiration and hope of millions of girls. We are proud of you)," Ritu shared on X.

Vinesh, who was playing in her third Olympics, made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final at the Olympics. She missed out on a medal in the Rio Olympics because of an injury that saw her stretchered off the mat in tears.

In the Tokyo Olympics, she was seeded first in the women’s 53kg and began with a win over Sweden’s Sofia Mattsson but lost her quarterfinal bout against Belarus’ Vanesa Kaladzinskaya and could not progress further.

Paris Games was her redemption story, following a disappointing Tokyo Olympics campaign, that ended in heartbreak after she was disqualified from the competition before her 50kg final bout on Wednesday.

"Humne bachpan se dekha hai Vinesh ko har cheez ke liye ladte huye aur har haar ke baad dobara uth kar ladte huye! Aaj hum bhi aapko hausla nahin de sakte kyuki aapke is faisle ne humei andar tal dhajhodh diya hai (Since childhood, we have seen Vinesh fighting for what is right and rising again after every defeat. Today, we find ourselves at a loss for words of encouragement because your decision has shaken us to the core. You are a great player)" said Vinesh's cousin Sangeeta Phogat.

Following her disqualification, Vinesh will be placed last in the competition in Paris as per the international wrestling rules.

The 29-year-old later appealed her Olympic disqualification to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), requesting a joint silver medal in the 50 kg weight category.

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