New Delhi: While many would have thought that the Olympic heartbreak must have left former wrestler Vinesh Phogat down and out, the athlete’s undying spirit and perseverance post the Paris Olympics 2024 helped her taste success on political debut. After almost two months of sadness, Tuesday, October 8, brought happiness galore for Vinesh as she emerged triumphant in her first examination in politics, sending a strong signal across that she was undeterred by the Olympic disappointment.
Vinesh Phogat, who joined the Indian National Congress (INC) after her campaign at the Paris Games, won the Julana assembly seat in Haryana, albeit the BJP crossing the majority mark in the state. The Olympian, who was disqualified from the Paris Games on the morning of her final bout for being overweight, beat BJP’s Captain Yogesh Bairagi, and Kavita Dalal from the Aam Aadmi Party with a margin of more than 6,000 seats.
What Vinesh said after victory
After her miraculous victory, Vinesh Phogat said that “This is the fight of every girl, every woman who chooses the path to fight. This is the victory of every struggle, truth. I will maintain the love and trust that this country has given me,”.
While scores of people, from almost all walks of life, hailed Vinesh for her debut win in politics and showered their love and praise, former President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, attacked Vinesh for her victory in Haryana assembly elections, saying that she won but the party lost.
From limited limelight to a prominent face
It was January 2023, when Vinesh Phogat, who enjoyed a restricted prominence till then, came into limelight along with several other wrestlers for protesting against then WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh and its coaches of sexually harassing female players for years. It wasn’t that the Olympic medallist was famous till then but after she, along with other wrestlers staged a sit-in in Delhi, people in the country got to know more about her.
After a lot of protests from the female wrestlers demanding the resignation of Singh and an action against him, a Delhi court in May 2024 framed charges against the former BJP leader and ex-WFI chief, after which he was denied a poll pass by the party and also had to step down from his role as the president of the wrestling body.
What Vinesh’s victory means for Brij Bhushan and camp
For the tainted BJP politician and ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh, Vinesh Phogat’s victory means ‘satyanaash’ but does it actually mean that? Singh’s first comments after the former wrestler’s win in Haryana read – ‘Wo jahan jahan jaegi, satyanaash hi hoga’, referring to her party’s loss in the state and her individual win but for Vinesh, this victory should open the doors for her firm stay and an effective juggle between politics and her passion sports, where she tries to reprimand the culprits and create a peaceful space for the women wrestlers in the country, using her political prowess.
While fate decides from here how the journey will be for the former wrestler, who was dragged on the streets of Delhi for protesting last year, but there is surely a chance of her navigating and slowly moving into the system of the wrestling body of India. As the entire country celebrates her ‘victory of truth’, we also wait for the days ahead when she’s actively backs into the ‘chaotic world of Indian wrestling’.
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