26-year-old wrestler Vinesh Phogat was considered a promising contender for the Tokyo Olympics. After her back to back wins at the 2018 Asian Games, Istanbul, Poland, Rome, Ukraine where she won gold medals and Asian Championships, it was almost like a given that she would shine at the 2020 Olympics.
However, Vinesh Phogat crashed out of the Tokyo Games in the quarter-finals and later, upon her arrival in India, she was temporarily banned by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for “indiscipline” and “not staying with the team”. This means that Vinesh can’t compete in any national or other domestic events until she files a reply and the federation takes a final call.
According to The Indian Express, Vinesh recently opened up about the Tokyo Olympics, her loss, and how everyone is treating her as though she is “dead”.
“Everyone outside is treating me like I am a dead thing. One medal (lost) and everything is finished,” she said.
She went on to talk about the physical and mental struggles she faced during the Olympics. From dealing with depression, anxiety, and the unavailability of her physiotherapist, Vinesh Phogat alleged that her journey had been extremely tough.
“I had a concussion in 2017, since then I have suffered from it. Things become blurry. It has gone down a lot but when my head strikes on anything, it comes back. Maybe it was the blood pressure. Maybe the weight cut. I’m used to salt capsules. They helped a lot. But they did not work in Tokyo where I was alone.”
She revealed that she was denied her long term physio, Purnima’, for Tokyo Olympics and was assigned the one from the shooting team, who didn’t quite understand Vinesh’s needs.
“I was reducing weight. I was my own physio and I was the wrestler. I was assigned a physio from the shooting team. She did not understand my body. She couldn’t help me with what my regular physio used to. Last day, when I am reducing weight, am I supposed to explain things to her on how things are done in wrestling, or focus on myself? It’s unfair on both of us.”
She went on to talk about her anxiety, feeling sick and nauseous often, and blanking out.
“I had not eaten the day before the bout. I drank some nutrition but I felt anxious. I woke up with a feeling of vomiting but I could not. I was in pain. Ultimately I did vomit. On the bus ride to the stadium, I called Purnima (my physio) asking her desperately what I could do.”
The feeling of ‘sickness’ didn’t go away during her match.
“After my first bout, I took a salt capsule. Nothing improved so I took one more. I could not eat anything because I was nauseous and felt like vomiting. I did some breathing exercises but to no effect. I was not feeling in control. I was shivering.”
She goes on to add:
“In the second bout, I knew I was losing. I was giving up points from positions I would never have. I can see that everything is going away but I can’t do it. My mind was blocked to that level that I didn’t know how to complete a takedown.”
Talking about being diagnosed with depression, she said.
“When in 2019 I changed weight, I was diagnosed with depression for three months. I was in Spain. I never slept. For days I would be awake. I came back to Lucknow, it became worse. If a coach even spoke in a slightly high tone, I would start crying.”
She went on to cite Simon Biles as an example, the US gymnast who pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health.
“Do you think doing meditation and talking to a psychologist is enough? Nothing is enough. Only we know. We celebrate Simone Biles as she said that I am not mentally prepared to perform at the Olympics and did not do her event. Try saying that in India. Forget pulling out of wrestling, just try saying that you are not ready.”
We hope that a fair decision is made regarding Vinesh Phogat’s wrestling career and she gets the help she deserves.