Vinesh Phogat

Vinesh Phogat (born 25 August 1994) is an Indian wrestler. She became the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold at both the Commonwealth and Asian Games.[3] She is the only Indian woman wrestler to win multiple medals at the World Wrestling Championships. Phogat became the first Indian athlete to be nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards in 2019.[4]

Vinesh Phogat
Phogat in August 2022
Personal information
NationalityIndian
Born (1994-08-25) 25 August 1994
Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, India[1]
Height159 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Weight56 kg (123 lb)
Sport
CountryIndia
SportFreestyle wrestling
Event(s)48 kg/50 kg/53 kg
Coached byMahavir Singh Phogat/Woller Akos
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking1
Medal record
Women's Freestyle Wrestling
Representing  India
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Championships - - 2
Asian Games 1 - 1
Commonwealth Games 3 - -
Asian Championships 1 3 4
Total 5 3 7
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Belgrade 53 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Nur-Sultan 53 kg
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta 50 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Incheon 48 kg
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow 48 kg
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast 50 kg
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham 53 kg
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place2021 Almaty53 kg
Silver medal – second place2015 Doha48 kg
Silver medal – second place2017 New Delhi55 kg
Silver medal – second place2018 Bishkek50 kg
Bronze medal – third place2013 New Delhi51 kg
Bronze medal – third place2016 Bangkok53 kg
Bronze medal – third place2019 Xi'an53 kg
Bronze medal – third place2020 New Delhi53 kg
Youth Wrestling Championship
Silver medal – second place 2013 Johannesburg[2]51 kg
Updated on 20 August 2018.

Phogat comes from a successful family of wrestlers. Her cousins have been international wrestlers and Commonwealth Games medalists as well. She is one of the leaders of the ongoing 2023 Indian wrestlers' protest against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh.[5]

Personal life and family
Further information: Phogat sisters

Vinesh is the daughter of wrestler Rajpal Phogat and cousin of wrestlers Geeta and Babita.[6][7] Both her cousins have won a gold in the 55 kg category at the Commonwealth Games.

By allowing her cousins and her to pursue competitive wrestling, her father and uncle had to deal with immense pressure and opposition from the community in their village in Haryana. They were judged to be going against the morals and values of their community.[8] Her cousin, Ritu Phogat, is also an international level wrestler and won a gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship.

On 13 December 2018, she married her long-time boyfriend and fellow wrestler Somvir Rathee of Bakhta Khera village of Jind district,[9][10] who is a two time gold medalist at the national championships.[11] The couple have known each other since 2011 and both work for the Indian Railways where they met and fell in love.[12][11]

She suffered a career-threatening anterior cruciate ligament tear in her knees at the Rio Olympics.[13]


Career

In world championship 2019, she bagged her maiden world championship medal (a bronze).[14] She bagged a Gold at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games in 2018 in the 50 kg category.[15] Inthe Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series in Rome, the 26 year old crushed Canada's Diana Mary Helen Weicker 4–0 in the 53 kg final.[16]

2013 Asian Wrestling Championships

In 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi, India, Vinesh won the bronze medal in the women's freestyle 52 kg category, winning 3:0 in the bronze medal bout through the repechage round to Tho-Kaew Sriprapa of Thailand.

In the first round, Vinesh won 3:1 against Nanami Irie of Japan. She then lost 1:3 in the quarter-finals to Tatyana Amanzhol of Kazakhstan who qualified for the final thus qualifying the Indian grappler for the repechage round.[17]

2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships

In an exclusive tournament held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Vinesh finished second and won the silver medal in the women's freestyle 51 kg category, losing in the final round to Odunayo Adekuoroye of Nigeria.[18]

2014 Commonwealth Games

Vinesh represented India in the women's freestyle 48 kg category at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and won the gold medal.[19]

In the quarter-finals, Vinesh faced Rosemary Nweke of Nigeria and beat her 5–0. Her semi-finals opponent was Jasmine Mian of Canada whom she beat 4–1. In the gold medal bout, she faced home favourite Yana Rattigan of England and won the gold medal, beating her 3–1.[20]

2014 Asian Games

At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, Vinesh won a bronze medal in the women's freestyle 48 kg category.[21]

In the Round of 16, Vinesh faced Yongmi Pak from the People's Republic of Korea and beat her 3:1. Her quarter-finals opponent was Dauletbike Yakhshimuratova of Uzbekistan whom she overcame easily with a 5:0 scoreline. She lost 1:3 in the semi-finals to Eri Tosaka of Japan but qualified for the bronze medal bout and beat Narangerel Eredenesukh of Mongolia to win 10-0 easily after referee stopped the bout (classification points 4:0).[22]

2015–2017

At the 2015 Asian Championships in Doha, Phogat won the silver medal in her category after losing the final to Yuki Irie of Japan.[23] In the qualifying tournament for the 2016 Rio Olympics held in Istanbul, she won in the final round beating Polish wrestler Iwona Matkowska, and qualified for the Olympics in the process.[24]

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Vinesh reached the Quarter Finals and lost to Sun Yanan of China owing to a knee injury.

2018 Gold Coast CommonWealth Games

Vinesh Phogat won the gold medal in women's 50 kg freestyle wrestling at 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

2018 Asian Games

Vinesh Phogat won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games and became first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold at the Asian Games.[3][25] Phogat beat Japan's Yuki Irie in the Women's 50 kg Freestyle Wrestling gold medal match 6–2.

2019 Asian Wrestling Championships

Vinesh won the bronze medal in 2019 Asian Wrestling Championships by defeating the World Championships bronze medallist Qianyu Pang of China.[26]

2019 Yasar Dogu International

Phogat won a gold medal at the 2019 Yasar Dogu International by defeating Ekaterina Poleshchuk of Russia.[27]

2019 Poland Open

Vinesh Phogat bagged her third consecutive gold in the women's 53 kg category after winning the Poland Open wrestling tournament in Warsaw.

2019 World Wrestling Championships

Vinesh Phogat bagged a maiden World Championship medal in the women's 53 kg category after pinning Maria Prevolaraki in the Bronze medal match. She became the first Indian wrestler to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 by virtue of her top six finish. [28]

2020 season

In January 2020, Phogat won gold in the Rome Ranking Series, defeating Luisa Elizabeth Valverde (4-0).[29]

2021

Phogat defeated the 2017 world champion Vanesa Kaladzinskaya to win the gold medal at the Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial tournament held in Kiev in February 2021.[30] Phogat won the gold medal at the 2021 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event and reclaimed her world number one rank.[31]

Phogat won the gold medal in the women's 53 kg event at the 2021 Poland Open.[32][33]

2020 Tokyo Olympics and suspension

In August 2021, she competed in the women's 53 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics where she was defeated in the quarterfinals by Belarusian Vanesa Kaladzinskaya.[34] Soon after the Olympics, she was suspended by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for indiscipline as she had refused to train with her Indian teammates at the Olympics Village and had not worn the official Indian kit at the Olympics.[35] Phogat issued an apology to the WFI, even as the WFI expressed its disapproval of private NGOs like JSW Sports and Olympic Gold Quest, which WFI believed were "spoiling" Indian wrestlers by the way they were handling and training them.[36] In November 2021, WFI prevented private NGOs from signing contracts with and training wrestlers without its approval, leading to Phogat losing her private contract with JSW Sports.[37]

2022

She won the gold medal in the women's 53 kg event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England.[38][39] She won one of the bronze medals in the 53 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.[40][41]

She also won the BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year award for 2022.[42]

Record against opponents

International Competition

Summer Olympic Games
Year Competition Venue Event Rank Opponent Result
2016 2016 Summer Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro Wrestling at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's freestyle 48 kg 10th  Sun Yanan (CHN) Loss-01r=02

World Championship
Year Competition Venue Event Rank Opponent Result
2019 2019 World Wrestling Championships Nur-Sultan 53kg 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Maria Prevolaraki (GRE) Win-04=01
2017 2017 World Wrestling Championships Paris 48kg 10th  Victoria Anthony (USA) Loss-04=06F
2015 2015 World Wrestling Championships Las Vegas 48kg 22nd  Kim Hyon-gyong (PRK) Loss-04=08
2013 2013 World Wrestling Championships Budapest 51kg 10th  Isabelle Sambou (SEN) Loss-03=06

Asian Games
Year Competition Venue Event Rank Opponent Result
2018 2018 Asian Games Jakarta 50kg 1st place, gold medalist(s)  Yuki Irie (JPN) Win-06=02
2014 2014 Asian Games Incheon 48kg 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Eri Tosaka (JPN) | Erdenesükhiin Narangerel (MGL) Lose-04=06, Win-10=0

Commonwealth Games
Year Competition Venue Event Rank Opponent Result
2022 2022 Commonwealth Games Birmingham 53kg 1st place, gold medalist(s)  Samantha Stewart (CAN) Win 2-0 (VFA)
2018 2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast 50kg 1st place, gold medalist(s)  Jessica MacDonald (CAN) Win-13=03
2014 2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow 48kg 1st place, gold medalist(s)  Yana Rattigan (ENG) Win-11=08

Asian Wrestling Championships
Year Competition Venue Event Rank Opponent Result
2021 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships Almaty 53kg 1st place, gold medalist(s)  Meng Hsuan (TPE) Win
2020 2020 Asian Wrestling Championships New Delhi 53kg 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Mayu Mukaida (JPN) Loss
2019 2019 Asian Wrestling Championships Xi'an 53kg 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Mayu Mukaida (JPN) Loss
2018 2018 Asian Wrestling Championships Bishkek 50kg 2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Lei Chun (CHN) Loss
2017 2017 Asian Wrestling Championships New Delhi 55kg 2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Sae Nanjo (JPN) Loss
2016 2016 Asian Wrestling Championships Bangkok 53kg 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Pang Qianyu (CHN) Loss
2015 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships Doha 48kg 2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Yuki Irie (JPN) Loss
2013 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships New Delhi 51kg 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Liu Haiping (CHN) Loss

Honors

See also

References
  1. "Kin celebrate Haryana wrestlers' fete at Glasgow". Hindustan Times. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  2. "2013 - Commonwealth Wrestling Championships". Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association (CAWA). Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  3. "Vinesh Becomes First Indian Woman Wrestler To Win Gold In The Asian Games". Headlines Today. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  4. "Vinesh Phogat Becomes First Indian Athlete to be Nominated for Laureus World Sports Awards". News18. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  5. "Indian Olympic wrestlers detained as latest protest escalates". BBC News. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  6. "Vinesh wins gold, with help from his cousin". The Indian Express. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  7. The Powerhouse Phogat Siblings and their Cousin - Deeta, Babita and Vinesh, Femina.
  8. "I Am A Girl, I Am A Wrestler". Tadpoles. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  9. p Pre-wedding festivities begin at Vinesh's village, The Tribune.
  10. Vinesh Phogat to marry wrestler Somvir Rathee on December 13, Hindustan Times
  11. दंगल गर्ल विनेश फोगाट और सोमवीर राठी आज लेंगे सात फेरे.
  12. बारात लेकर बलाली पहुंचे पहलवान सोमवीर, विनेश के साथ लेंगे 7 फेरे, Dainik Bhaskar, 14 Dec 2918.
  13. "Tokyo 2020: Vinesh Phogat buries ghosts of Rio Games, star wrestler geared up for 2nd Olympics appearance". India Today. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  14. "Tokyo 2020: Vinesh Phogat buries ghosts of Rio Games, star wrestler geared up for 2nd Olympics appearance". India Today. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  15. "Tokyo 2020: Vinesh Phogat buries ghosts of Rio Games, star wrestler geared up for 2nd Olympics appearance". India Today. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  16. "Vinesh Phogat clinches gold medal in Rome event, reclaims top rank". India Today. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  17. "International Wrestling Database". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  18. "International Wrestling Database". www.iat.uni-leipzig.de. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
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  20. "Glasgow 2014 - Vinesh Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  21. "Wrestler Vinesh Phogat wins18th bronze for India in Asian Games 2014". india.com. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  22. "Athletes_Profile | Biographies | Sports". www.incheon2014ag.org. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
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  28. "World Championships".
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  30. "Vinesh Phogat beats Vanesa Kaladzinskaya to win gold in Ukraine wrestling event". India Today. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  31. "Vinesh Phogat wins gold, reclaims number one rank; Bajrang Punia reaches final". India Today. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
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  34. "Wrestling Results Book" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  35. "WFI suspends star wrestler Vinesh Phogat over indiscipline after Tokyo Olympics campaign". India Today. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  36. "Vinesh Phogat sends apology to WFI, may still not be allowed to compete at Worlds". Sportstar. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  37. "WFI has its way, sports NGO JSW agrees on tripartite contracts with wrestlers". The Times of India. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  38. Berkeley, Geoff (6 August 2022). "Phogat completes Commonwealth Games hat-trick with another wrestling gold". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  39. "Wrestling Competition Summary" (PDF). 2022 Commonwealth Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  40. Burke, Patrick (14 September 2022). "Susaki and Morikawa earn Japanese double at World Wrestling Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
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  42. "Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik nominated for BBC ISWOTY Award". The Hindu. PTI. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  43. "Rohit Sharma to Vinesh Phogat: Meet the five Khel Ratna recipients of 2020". 23 August 2020.
  44. After Winning The Arjuna Award, Wrestler Vinesh Phogat Promises Nothing Less Than Gold In Tokyo 2020, India Times, Sept 2016
  45. Padma Shri proposed for Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Times of India, Oct 2018.
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