Our fight will continue, truth will prevail: Vinesh Phogat

Overwhelmed by the grand reception she received on her arrival from the Paris Olympics, wrestler Vinesh Phogat has said that her fight for the betterment of Indian wrestling would continue and that "truth will prevail".

Hundreds of supporters had gathered outside the IGI airport in New Delhi on Saturday, 17 August, to give a rousing welcome to Vinesh who was disqualified for being overweight after reaching the 50kg final at the Olympics.

Vinesh's appeal against her disqualification was also rejected by the ad-hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"Our fight has not ended and the fight will continue and I pray to god that the truth will prevail,” said Vinesh while addressing the crowd.

Vinesh and fellow Olympians Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik have been protesting for more than a year against the Wrestling Federation of India and its former chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for his alleged sexual harassment of women grapplers.

Six wrestler, including Vinesh, sat in protest at Jantar Mantar in 2023 demanding action against the former WFI chief before they were evicted as they tried to march towards the new Parliament building.

Vinesh also said that the welcome she had received on arrival would give her the courage to pick up the threads and get on with life.

"As I got love from my fellow Indians, my village and my family members, I guess I would get some courage to make this wound heal. Maybe, I could return to wrestling," said the 29-year-old Vinesh.

"I just want to say that missing the Olympic medal is the biggest wound in my life. I don't know how much time it would take to heal this wound. I don't know if I would pursue wrestling or not but the kind of courage I got today (Saturday), I want to use that in the right direction," she added.