‘I still want to compete’: Vinesh Phogat makes retirement U-turn, aims for 2028 LA Olympics

NEW DELHI: India’s ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat announced her return after an 18-month hiatus to chase her Olympic dream, confirming that she has come out of retirement from professional wrestling on Friday.

Last year, Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling after being disqualified in the 50 kg freestyle final at the Paris Olympics. Phogat had advanced to the gold medal bout by defeating Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semi-finals. She was set to compete against the United States’ Sarah Ann Hildebrandt for the gold medal but was disqualified for breaching the weight limit.

In an X post, Phogat wrote, “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.”

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— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) December 12, 2025

“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,” she added.

Vinesh will now join the list of elite Indian athletes who returned to competition after childbirth. The Olympian, who is married to wrestler Somvir Rathee, welcomed a baby boy in July 2025. “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”.

In a fine career, Phogat secured 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). She was also a gold medalist at the 2021 Asian Championships and has won silver and bronze at the continental level. (ANI)