Breakthrough: Commonwealth Gold in Glasgow
Vinesh announced herself on the senior stage in 2014, winning 48 kg gold at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and following it with a bronze at the Incheon Asian Games a few weeks later. Those results made her a regular in India’s senior squad and set up her first Olympic campaign at Rio 2016, where a serious knee injury in the quarter-final ended her challenge.
Vinesh Phogat Career Journey
She recovered from the Rio injury to win Commonwealth and Asian Games gold in 2018, becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Asian Games title. A move up to 53 kg brought World Championship bronze medals in 2019 and 2022 and a third Commonwealth gold in Birmingham. After a quarter-final exit at Tokyo 2020, she dropped back to 50 kg for Paris 2024, where she beat Yui Susaki, Oksana Livach and Yusneylys Guzman to reach the final. On the morning of the final on 7 August 2024 she was found to be 100 grams over the limit and was disqualified. The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed her appeal for a shared silver on 14 August 2024. She announced her retirement on 8 August 2024.
Weeks later she joined the Congress and won the Julana seat in the October 2024 Haryana Assembly election, defeating the BJP’s Yogesh Kumar (Bairagi) by 6,015 votes.
Vinesh Phogat Records and Milestones
- First Indian woman wrestler to win an Asian Games gold medal (2018)
- Commonwealth Games gold in three consecutive editions (2014, 2018, 2022) in three weight classes
- First Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final (Paris 2024)
- Two World Championship bronze medals (2019, 2022)
- First Indian athlete nominated for a Laureus World Sports Award (2019)
Vinesh Phogat Awards and Honours
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Arjuna Award |
| 2019 | Laureus World Sports Award nomination (Comeback of the Year) |
| 2020 | Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna |
In December 2023, during the wrestlers’ protest, she announced she was returning her Arjuna and Khel Ratna awards.
