Vinesh Phogat’s comebacks: 2 ACL injuries, 2 elbow surgeries, 2 Olympic heartbreaks and finally a medal at Paris 2024

Vinesh Phogat will compete in the final of the 50kg weight class today with only USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt standing in the way of her becoming the first ever woman from India to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

Irrespective of what medal Vinesh Phogat wins today, it will be the best performance by an Indian athlete at the Paris Olympics so far since the Indian contingent has only won three bronze medals in the capital of France.

Even before today, Vinesh Phogat has made plenty of history. Vinesh is the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold medals at both the Asian and Commonwealth Games.

Vinesh Phogat’s path to the Olympics medal at Paris 2024 has not been easy. While a lot of attention has been given to Vinesh and the other wrestlers’ fight against the former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, she has had to leap over her fair share of other hurdles as well on her long journey to an Olympics medal.

Vinesh Phogat’s traumatic Olympic debut at Rio 2016

Vinesh Phogat’s tryst with the Olympics began with pain and tears. Vinesh was tipped to be a medal favourite at the Rio Olympics. Her Rio 2016 Olympics journey started on a promising note as she had a win by technical superiority, scoring 11-0,

But competing against China’s Sun Yanan in the quarterfinals, she suffered a devastating injury as her opponent unintentionally fell on her leg causing her severe injury. A sobbing Vinesh Phogat was carried off the mat in a stretcher. Not only was Vinesh forced to withdraw from Rio 2016, but she also needed to undergo surgery because she had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in her right knee.

After her surgery, Vinesh’s right ACL tear took five months of rehabilitation before she was back in training. Vinesh Phogat only made a competitive comeback after the surgery in 2018.

Heartbreak at Tokyo 2021 for Vinesh Phogat

Vinesh Phogat went into the deferred Tokyo Olympics as the top seed in the women’s 53kg. She started her campaign with a victory over Sweden’s Sofia Mattsson, a bronze medallist from Rio 2016, in the round of 16.

But she bowed out in the quarter-finals after being pinned by Belarus’ Vanesa Kaladzinskaya.

In the aftermath of the defeat, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) initiated disciplinary action against Vinesh for her conduct at Tokyo. The WFI did revoke her suspension.

Vinesh Phogat forced to undergo twin elbow surgeries

While competing at the national trials to pick the wrestling team to compete at the world championships in 2021, Vinesh Phogat pulled out mid-way. In a few days’ time, she underwent surgery on her elbow.

Vinesh posted a message on her social media after the surgery: “Elbow surgery done! No matter how many times I fall, I will still rise”

She made a comeback from that blow in 2022 and won a bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

But she had to undergo another elbow surgery in June 2023.

Vinesh Phogat forced to undergo second knee surgery

Vinesh Phogat was getting ready to compete at the deferred Asian Games in Hangzhou, when disaster struck! She suffered a knee injury on her left leg in a training session in August.

It turned out to be a ‘complete tear’ of the anterior cruciate ligament and a ‘partial tear’ of the lateral collateral ligament.

“Doctor said that unfortunately, surgery is the only option for me to recover… It was my dream to retain my Asian Games gold medal for India which I won in 2018 at Jakarta. But unfortunately, this injury has ruled out my participation now,” Vinesh Phogat had said.

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