Vinesh Phogat | Olympic champion, wrestler, new Haryana legislator

Veteran wrestler and newbie in the political field Vinesh Phogat will now be a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly representing Julana constituency. Vinesh Phogat, contesting on a Congress ticket, won by a margin of 6,015 votes over her closest rival, Pilot Yogesh Kumar of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Ms Phogat, considered one of India's best wrestlers, announced her entry into politics after retiring from wrestling earlier this year following her unfortunate disqualification ahead of the gold medal bout at the Paris 2024 Olympics. This was her first election campaign.

Notably, her cousin Babita Kumari, also a top wrestler, had contested the Haryana Legislative Assembly elections in 2019 on a BJP ticket.

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On September 6, Vinesh Phogat and decorated Olympic wrestler Bajrang Punia both met the Indian National Congress at the party's headquarters in Delhi. Mr. Punia was appointed as the acting president of the All India Kisan Congress. Although he did not contest the assembly elections, Vinesh Phogat was fielded as the candidate from Julana.

Also result: Haryana Assembly Election Results LIVE

The constituency witnessed an interesting political contest with another woman wrestler: Kavita Dalal of the Aam Aadmi Party, a gold medalist at the South Asian Games and the first Indian woman to compete in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Others in the fray included Amarjeet Singh Dhanda of the Jannayak Janta Party, the sitting MLA, Yogesh Bairagi of the BJP, a commercial pilot, and Surender Lather of the Indian National Lok Dal.

In the final count, Ms Phogat secured 65,080 votes, edging out Mr Bairagi, the BJP candidate, by a margin of 6015. INLD's Lather was a distant third.

As a newcomer to political office, Ms. Phogat has been vocal about social issues. Along with fellow wrestlers Punia and Sakshi Malik, she was instrumental in the protests against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, former president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), over alleged sexual abuse of several female athletes over the years. She also expressed support for protests by farmers in Haryana demanding minimum support prices (MSPs) for various crops and fulfillment of several promises made after the 2020-21 protests.

Ahead of the elections, political analysts noted that wrestlers' popularity among the Haryana public could benefit the Congress in general and Ms Phogat in particular.

Sporty trip

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 famous wrestling families: her cousins ​​Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari are internationally known wrestlers and she was introduced to the sport at a very young age by her uncle Mahavir Singh Phogat, Dronacharya award winner and renowned wrestling coach. While Geeta won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, both Geeta and Babita won bronze medals at the 2012 World Championships.

When Vinesh entered the field, some thought she was one of the Phogat sisters. Along with the other female wrestlers in her family, Ms. Phogat reportedly had to deal with opposition from locals who viewed wrestling as a man's sport.

Ms Phogat celebrated her first international victory with a bronze in the 51kg freestyle category at the 2013 Asian Championships. She then won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, followed by two more gold medals in 2018 and 2022. Ms Phogat was with her Victory at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games became the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold medals at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. She has also won two bronze medals at the World Championships and a gold medal at the Asian Championships.

Ms Phogat made her Olympic debut at the Rio Games in 2016, where she competed in the 48kg freestyle category. However, her journey was marred when she dislocated her knee during a quarterfinal bout and had to be carried off the mat on a stretcher. Her appearance at the following Olympics (Tokyo 2020) was a failure, as she finished 9th in the women's freestyle up to 53 kg category. Upon her return, she was also suspended by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for indiscipline; This was later revoked.

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, there has been major upheaval in the Indian wrestling world. In 2023, Ms. Phogat, along with several other elite Indian female wrestlers, protested against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, former president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), for alleged sexual abuse of several female wrestlers.

Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Ms Phogat wanted to compete in the 53kg category. However, that spot went to Antim Panghal and Vinesh took part in the 50kg selection trials and secured a quota spot. During the Games, Phogat made it to the final, but on the morning of her gold medal match she was discovered to be 100g overweight, leading to her disqualification. Their appeal for a joint silver medal was rejected by the sports court

A day after her disqualification, Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling in a social media post, writing, “…I have no strength left now. Goodbye Wrestling, 2001-2024.”

After her resignation and joining the Congress, her uncle and former coach Mahavir Singh Phogat said he was “sad” about his niece's decision to join politics and said she could have done so even after the 2028 Olympics .

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