Vinesh Phogat announces retirement u-turn, sets sights on 2028 LA Olympics

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has announced her return to the sport and has declared that she will once again be pursuing her dream of winning a Gold at the Olympics. Notably, the 31-year-old had announced her retirement from wrestling after she was disqualified from the final for being 100 grams over the weight limit. She was denied of what would have been a historic medal for her and India and had to leave emty-handed.

Vinesh shares emotional post

Vinesh made an emotional Instagram post and announced her return to wrestling. She stated that during her time away from the sport, she realised that the fire inside of her had never vanquished. She also said that this time, she will be accompanied by her baby boy, who will be cheering her on in the next edition of the Olympics. Notably, Vinesh and her husband Somvir Rathee had welcomed a baby boy in July, 2025. She will join some of India's elite athletes, who have competed at the Olympics after childbirth.

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"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. 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," Vinesh wrote in an Instagram post.

"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. 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," she added.

Vinesh hasn't had a great history with the Olympics till now. She had made her debut in the 2016 games that were held in Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, she went on to suffer a knee injury during the quarter-finals and was forced to withdraw. She was then eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics despite being the top-ranked wrestler in her category.

Heartbreak in Paris Olympics

Then came the 2024 Paris Olympics and Vinesh went on to storm through the competition. She even went on to defeat the reigning Olympic champion Yui Sasaki from Japan and the reigning Pan American Games champion Yusneylis Guzman. However, Vinesh was shocking disqualified on the morning of the final and failed to bring her Olympic curse to an end. It remains to be seen as to if she will be able to go another heroic run in the 2028 LA Olympics.