Vinesh Phogat was forced to withdraw on the night of her competition in Budapest, Hungary, ending her chances of wrestling for the first time this year. This withdrawal has put a huge question mark on Phogat’s comeback bid for Asian Games 2023.
Vinesh Phogat withdrew from the Ranking Series tournament late on Friday night citing fever and food poisoning, The Indian Express has learned. Her matches in the 55kg weight class were set for Saturday. The Sports Authority of India and the organisers were informed of the decision on Friday.
Vinesh last competed in the World Championships in September 2022, where she earned a bronze medal. Vinesh Phogat has served as the spokesperson for the protests against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The ace wrestler hasn’t been able to practise or compete with the same intensity since the beginning of the year due to the demonstrations, though. She and fellow wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik started a commotion in January against Singh, accusing him of bullying female wrestlers.
The group, along with a few other wrestlers, started their demonstrations again in April and continued them for nearly two months when no action was done against him. After receiving assurances of a prompt probe from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, they called it off last month.
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Vinesh Phogat’s bid for Asian Games 2023 stalled
The wrestlers then returned to training and left for destinations outside India to get in shape for the selection trials for the World Championships in September and the Asian Games in October. The trials are set to be held on July 22 and 23, however, it isn’t clear yet if Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang and Sakshi will be a part of it.
Vinesh was hoping to use the tournament in Budapest to test her fitness ahead of the trials. Having stayed away from the mat for a major part of the year, she decided to compete in the 55kg weight category instead of the 53kg class, where she normally takes part.
But that’s not what happened. Sangeeta Phogat is the only Indian wrestler still competing in Budapest due to her withdrawal from the Ranking Series.
Sangeeta, another wrestler who had been protesting Singh, will compete in the 59kg division and will begin her campaign against Jennifer Page Rogers of the United States.
Other Indian wrestlers have remained away from the competition in order to focus on training for the crucial Asian Games trials, which will take place the following weekend.
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