‘Goodbye wrestling’: Indian Olympian appears to announce her retirement after being disqualified from gold medal match

Vinesh Phogat, the first Indian woman to qualify for an Olympic wrestling final, appeared to announce her retirement from the sport in a heartbreaking statement.

In a social media post, Phogat said her spirit was broken after she was disqualified from the gold medal match of the women’s 50kg freestyle category.

“Mom, wrestling defeated me. I have lost. Please forgive me. Your dream, my spirit, it’s all shattered. I don’t have more strength than this now,” she said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024”

“I’ll forever be indebted to you. Please forgive me,” she added.

A cruel twist of fate

Phogat, a three-time Olympian who comes from a prominent Indian wrestling family, was set to face Team USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt in Wednesday’s final.

Her journey to the final had included one of the most stunning upsets of the Games so far when she beat reigning Olympic gold medalist Yui Susaki in a dramatic first-round bout.

Susaki, who was widely touted as the best pound-for-pound freestyle wrestler in the world, had never lost a fight at the senior level and did not even drop a point on her way to gold at the last Olympics in Tokyo.

Phogat came through with a late takedown to claim a 3-2 decision in their opening match before besting Ukraine’s Oksana Livach 7-5 and Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzmán López 5-0 on her march to the medal podium.

However, Phogat did not make the weight required to compete Wednesday morning, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said Tuesday.

Competition rules say wrestlers must stay in their weight category on both days of the tournament. After Phogat’s disqualification, only the gold and bronze medals were awarded in the event.

Before the disqualification, she had been guaranteed to