Shagun Roy, Pune
Vinesh Phogat won’t be participating in this year’s Asian Games due to a knee injury. The 28-year-old wrestler took to social media and expressed her disappointment in not being able to compete this time. Previously, during the Rio Olympics, the athlete also sustained a knee injury, followed by surgery later.
“I wanted to share an extremely sad piece of news. A couple of days ago, on August 13, 2023, I injured my left knee in training. After doing the scans and examinations, the doctor has said that unfortunately, surgery is the only option for me to recover,” she tweeted on X formerly known as Twitter.
The two-time Commonwealth gold medalist also informed her fans regarding her upcoming surgery by stating, “I will be undergoing surgery on August 17 in Mumbai. 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. I have informed the concerned authorities immediately so that the Reserve player can be sent to the Asian Games.”
She also requested that all the fans continue supporting her so that she can make a strong comeback on the mat soon and prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The trials for the World Championships are planned for August 25–26 in Patiala. Phogat and Bajrang Punia were initially exempted from the Asian Games trials, which led to controversy and criticism from many in the wrestling community. However, the committee appointed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) later decided against granting any exemptions for the trials.
As for now, both Phogat and Punia have not confirmed their participation in the World Championships. These Championships, starting on September 16, hold significance as the first qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympics.