There’s a photograph – an aerial view – of Vinesh Phogat lying on her back, holding her thigh and wincing in pain. On a blue mat that says Rio 2016, she’s surrounded by four officials and her quarterfinal opponent – Sun Yanan of China. She lost the contest. She had dislocated her knee. She had to be stretchered off. Her dreams of becoming the first woman wrestler from India to win an Olympic medal came to an excruciating end.
Days later, seated on a wheelchair with her right leg plastered at the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi, she had to make way for Sakshi Malik, the first woman wrestler from India to win an Olympic medal, to be welcomed with petals of several flowers. She was happy for her compatriot but this was her dream too and the quashing of it perhaps fully sunk in when millions celebrated Sakshi’s bronze medal from Rio. She cried.
“Injuries can happen anytime,” the 23-year-old said, 15 months after that horrific day in Rio. “I have to be prepared. And, because of my experience, I now know what to do and what not to do to stay away from injuries.”
Phogat now seems to have moved on from Rio. She had rekindled her mind, she had rehabilitated her body, she is readying herself to wear gold in Tokyo after three years. Even her top-of-the-podium finish after beating Manisha in the 55-kg category at the senior national wrestling championship on November 16 is part of her preparation for the bigger mission in Japan.
But the victory, for her, is significant, nevertheless. “Any athlete, after coming from an injury, will be doubtful about their game, their body. And, I, too, was. So, it definitely feels good to be the best at this level,” said the wrestler, who is supported by JSW.
The win also comes after a poor show at the World Wrestling Championship in Paris, where she lost to two-time junior world champion Victoria Anthony of USA. None of her compatriots could manage a medal there despite training training for a couple of weeks at a local club in Paris’ Boulevard de Bercy borough.
Phogat, however, said there’s a “desperate need” for more foreign exposure trips. Japan, according to her, is the best country in the world for wrestling. “There’s a strong wrestling culture there. Then, there’s Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Russia… all these countries are good training places.”
As of now, there are no plans for Indian wrestlers to train abroad.
“Compared to the systems of wrestling in countries like US and Japan, ours is very different,” she added. “Over there, they are technically much stronger, and the wrestlers are of a higher level. The training is of a high level too. They target the Olympics, which is the larger picture. The facilities and the infrastructure are great as well.”
Apart from the exposure trips, she had, on Twitter, also reiterated her demand for a foreign coach after the World Championship, wherein she had also said that the “system should also undergo course correction”.
Podium finishes at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships and the Asian Games are her immediate goals. But more than the victories, she prefers to stay fit and injury-free. For, the six months she spent off the wrestling mat were tough.
“Yes, it was a very difficult period. But I was watching other athletes. I was talking to people. I was motivating myself to come back.”
She believes she’s back at her best level. “I have to be at my best no matter what. I cannot think of things like whether if I’ll be able to do it or not. Now, I am mentally stronger than I was.”