‘Will feed her Churma, Halwa…’: Vinesh Phogat’s mother gets emotional as wrestler returns from Paris

Harvinder and Premlata, brother and mother respectively of former Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, expressed happiness over the warm welcome she received back home after her heartbreaking experience at the Paris Olympics, where she became the first Indian woman to reach the final of the wrestling competition but was disqualified for exceeding the weight limit. Vinesh received a warm welcome upon her arrival at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi National Airport on Saturday.

Talking to ANI during Harvinder’s Jhajjar roadshow, the wrestler’s brother said that the love and support of people will be a source of strength for her in such a tough time.

“It makes me happy to see the love and support people have for her. These people and their support will give her the strength to move forward,” Havinder said.

The wrestler’s mother Premlata also told ANI, “It feels really good (to welcome her). She is doing really well and people across the country are showering her with love and support. She will be fed churma, halwa, chutney and dahi when she returns home.”

The Haryana-born wrestler was emotional and broke down in tears during his reception at the airport today.

In Paris, Vinesh became the first Indian female wrestler to reach the Olympic final.

However, she was disqualified from the 50kg gold medal match for being 100g overweight. On Wednesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected her request to tie for silver. On August 8, the day after her disqualification, she announced her retirement from wrestling.

Vinesh was scheduled to compete for the gold medal against Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the United States on August 7. She was disqualified before the women’s 50kg final on August 7 for being overweight. During the weigh-in, her weight was found to be 100 grams over the limit. After her disqualification, Vinesh appealed to be awarded the silver medal in the 50kg category.

A huge crowd gathered at the Delhi airport to welcome the 29-year-old and fans showered her with flower petals when she arrived in the capital.

Vinesh announced her decision to quit wrestling in an emotional blog post on August 8. “Wrestling won me and I lost. Please forgive me for shattering your dreams and my courage. I have no strength left now. Goodbye, wrestling 2001-2024. I will be forever grateful to all of you for your forgiveness,” Fugate said in her blog post.