Vinesh Phogat confirmed on Friday that she had come out of retirement from professional wrestling and announced her return to pursue her Olympic goal following an 18-month break.
Following a contentious disqualification in the women’s 50kg freestyle final at the Olympics in Paris, Phogat declared her retirement from wrestling last year. In the semi-finals, the Indian defeated Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba 5-0 to advance to the gold medal match.
She was supposed to fight for the gold medal against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the United States, but she missed out on an elusive Olympic medal after being disqualified for exceeding the weight limit.
“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,” Phogat said on X.
“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,” the ace wrestler added.
“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.”
Vinesh joins a distinguished group of Indian athletes who have returned to competition after giving birth. The Olympian, married to wrestler Somvir Rathee, welcomed a baby boy in July 2025.
Phogat won three gold medals at the Commonwealth Games (2014, 2018, 2022), two bronze medals at the World Championships (2019 and 2022), and gold and bronze medals at the Asian Games (2018 and 2014). She won silver and bronze at the continental level in addition to winning gold in the 2021 Asian Championships.
