Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has opened up the restlessness and anxiety she faced after the Olympic loss. Phogat lost during the Quarterfinals of women’s wrestling in the Tokyo Olympics. She accused Wrestling Federation of India for inserting undue pressure upon her and criticised them for handing over a temporary ban on disciplinary grounds. She revealed that the Federation didn’t even provide her with a wrestling physio and she had to settle for a shooting physio.
Phogat is unsure about her wrestling future and she has once again opened up debates regarding the mental well-being of athletes and the turbulence they face because of intense competition.
Here is an excerpt from the letter she wrote out of anguish-
“Right now, I really want to focus on my family. But everyone outside is treating me like I am a dead thing. They write anything, they do…. I knew that in India, you fall as fast as you rise. One medal (lost) and everything is finished.”