Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has reversed her earlier decision to retire and announced that she will return to competitive wrestling, setting her sights firmly on winning the long-awaited Olympic medal at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
In an emotional statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Vinesh opened up about the intense self-reflection that shaped her comeback. "People kept asking if Paris was the end. For a long time, I didn't have the answer. I needed to step away from the mat, from the pressure, from the expectations, even from my own ambitions. For the first time in years, I allowed myself to breathe."
She described how stepping back allowed her to rediscover her purpose and passion for wrestling. “I took time to understand the weight of my journey, the highs, the heartbreaks, the sacrifices, the versions of me the world never saw. And somewhere in that reflection, I found the truth, I still love this sport. I still want to compete.”
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Vinesh added that the time away helped her reconnect with her inner fire. "In that silence, I found something I'd forgotten 'the fire never left'. It was only buried under exhaustion and noise. The discipline, the routine, the fight... it's in my system. No matter how far I walked away, a part of me stayed on the mat."
Vinesh Phogat's comeback
Her comeback is driven not just by her own ambition, but by a new source of motivation.
She concluded, “So here I am, stepping back toward LA28 with a heart that's unafraid and a spirit that refuses to bow. And this time, I'm not walking alone my son is joining my team, my biggest motivation, my little cheerleader on this road to the LA Olympics."
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Vinesh’s return comes after one of the most dramatic moments in Indian Olympic history. She had made headlines by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic gold medal match, defeating Japan’s four-time world champion Yui Susaki in a stunning performance that secured her a place in the final. But her medal hopes collapsed on the day of the title bout when she exceeded the weigh-in limit by 100 grams and was disqualified.
Under United World Wrestling (UWW) rules, a failed weigh-in nullifies all previous results. Though Vinesh argued she deserved the silver for her three wins on Day 1, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected her appeal, leaving her without a medal despite her historic run.
Now, with a renewed spirit and a clear target, Los Angeles 2028: Vinesh Phogat is ready to rewrite her story.
