Fire never left; stepping back towards LA Olympics; Vinesh Phogat announces comeback to wrestling ring

NEW DELHI: Legendary wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who announced her retirement after her disqualification in the Paris Olympics final, is returning to the wrestling ring. The star is planning to make a comeback through the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Vinesh herself announced this through a social media post.

People kept asking if Paris was the end. For a long time, I didn't have the answer," Vinesh said in an emotional social media post. "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. 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.

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 towards LA28 with a heart that's unafraid and a spirit that refuses to bow. 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- Vinesh wrote on social media.

Vinesh was disqualified from the women's 50 kg freestyle final due to being 100 grams overweight. The athlete later announced her retirement. The loss of a medal that Vinesh was sure of in the historic final had become an unbearable burden on the chest of sports fans. Vinesh, who would have won a silver medal even if she had lost to American Sarah Ann in the final, had to return empty-handed. Vinesh, who made history by becoming the first Indian woman to reach the Olympic wrestling final, was on the verge of winning a historic medal.