India`s star wrestler Vinesh Phogat has announced her return to the spot after a break of 18 months. With an aim of clinching an Olympic gold medal, the wrestler confirmed that she has come out of retirement from professional wrestling.
In the previous year, Phogat drew curtains on her wrestling career after being disqualified in the 50 kg freestyle title clash in the Paris Olympics. She advanced to the final after defeating Cuba`s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semi-finals.
The Indian was set to compete for the gold medal against the United States` athlete Sarah Ann Hildebrandt, but was disqualified for breaching the weight limit.
She shared a post on her official social media handle in which she stated, “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,” Phogat 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,” read the post.
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) December 12, 2025
The 31-year-old wrestler will join the likes of Indian athletes who made their return to the sport after childbirth. Vinesh, who is married to wrestler Somvir Rathee, welcomed a baby boy in July 2025.
Vinesh Phogat`s career achievements
In her career so far, she clinched two World Championships bronze medals (2019 and 2022), an Asian Games gold (2018) and bronze (2014) and three Commonwealth Games gold medals (2014, 2018, 2022). Vinesh also managed to claim a gold medal in the 2021 Asian Championships and has also won silver and bronze medals at the continental level.
(With ANI Inputs)
