Vinesh Phogat Overwhelmed by Fans' Heroic Welcome, Breaks Down in Tears at Delhi Airport

NEW DELHI: Former Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat arrived in New Delhi on Saturday after she was disqualified from the recently concluded Paris Olympics 2024.

Finally, she arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on August 17 with thousands of supporters waiting to welcome her. Vinesh's family, including her mother, arrived hours before her landing at the airport.

Security at the airport was beefed up in anticipation of her arrival. Later in the day, Vinesh is expected to head to her village, Balali.

With her arrival, thousands of people, including fellow wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, reached the airport to welcome her.

In a video that went viral, Vinesh was seen breaking down in tears when she saw her family and close friends.

"I thank everyone in the country. I feel very fortunate," Vinesh said.

Vinesh Phogat booked a place in the final of the Women's 50kg event at the Paris Olympics 2024, opening hope for India to win a medal. However, this joy was transitory as she was ruled out of the competition for being 100 grams overweight during a second weigh-in on the day of her gold-medal match.

She requested a joint silver medal with her, which was also rejected by the CAS.

Before heading to India, Vinesh said she was disappointed at missing an Olympic medal and finally linked her disappointment to her fight for women's rights in India, for which she had fought against the former chief of the wrestling federation in her protests.

In a three-page letter posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) Friday night, Phogat hinted that there could be a return to the sport in the future despite contemplating retirement earlier.

Her coach, Woller Akos, revealed the extreme measures they resorted to in order to bring her within the weight limit before she was disqualified. In a now-deleted Facebook post, he explained how the eve of the final weigh-in saw Vinesh being forced into an extreme and dangerous weight-cutting regime.

Despite hours of exercise and time in the sauna, they struggled to reduce her weight, which was leaving her physically exhausted. Akos said that it was such an extreme experience that he had even feared for her life.

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