A tearful and heartbroken Vinesh Phogat returned home from the Paris Olympics on Saturday after enduring a week-long ordeal, following her disqualification from the 50kg freestyle final after being found 100gm overweight and the subsequent rejection of her appeal with the Court of Arbitration of Sport for a joint silver medal.
Vinesh defeated the defending champion Yui Susaki of Japan on her way to booking a final against USA's Sarah Ann Hildebrandt on August 7. But she was disqualified after the second official weigh-in on the morning of her gold-medal match.
However, Vinesh's medal-less return home after a tragic end to her campaign didn't deter her family and close friends, including fellow wrestlers and Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, to roll out a hero's welcome at the Delhi airport.
Accompanying Vinesh on her flight back home from Paris was India's 2012 Olympic medal-winning shooter and Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent at the Paris Games, Gagan Narang.
Narang posted an image with Vinesh en route to Delhi, hailing her as a champion who doesn't need an Olympic medal to inspire a generation of sports persons.
"She came as a champion on day 1 into the Games Village and she will always remain our champion. Sometimes one doesn’t need an Olympic medal to inspire a billion dreams...@vineshphogat you have inspired generations. Salute to your grit," Narang tweeted.
After her disqualification, Vinesh had announced retirement from wrestling in a gut-wrenching post on X.
