‘I have zero mental strength right now’: Vinesh Phogat reveals what went wrong in Tokyo

After a quarterfinal loss at the Tokyo Olympics, eventual criticism of her performance and suspension from the Wrestling Federation of India on grounds of indiscipline, Vinesh Phogat has finally broken her silence. She elaborated on her struggles with injury and mental health as she prepared for the Tokyo Olympics, and also talked about her exams on the day she was scheduled to compete in the Games.

Vinesh also hinted that she might take a break from wrestling. “I don’t know when I’ll be back (on the mat). Probably not. Really broken,” she wrote for Indian Express As she narrates her experience.

The 26-year-old wrestler revealed that she was in pain on the day of her bout, adding that she cut the weight. Vinesh also said that when she reached Tokyo, she was given a physio by the shooting team.

“I was losing weight. I was my own physio and I was a wrestler. I was assigned a physio from the shooting team. She didn’t understand my body. My sport has very specific demands. She doesn’t help me.” used to do regular physio Unfair for,” Phogat wrote, calling her long-term physio Poornima Ngomadir on her way to the stadium, “by desperately asking her what I can do.”

The wrestler said that while he handled the pressure better in Tokyo than in Rio (2016 Olympics), his struggles on the day of the bout, his COVID infection and previous head injury were all decisive in his outing in Tokyo.

He wrote, “I had a concussion in 2017, I’ve been suffering from since then. Things get blurry. It’s gone down a lot, but when my head strikes something, it comes back.”

Phogat also defended his coach Volar Akos, crediting his support staff for their achievements over the past three years. “Wolar traveled with me, to help me, stayed with me in Lucknow when his one-year-old son was in Budapest. When COVID hit, he continued training and inspired me when the Olympics were postponed. He didn’t care about his personal life. How can you blame that person?” Phogat wrote.

The wrestler further revealed that he was diagnosed with depression after changing his weight category, which got worse after the injury in 2019. “Now, I find it hard to cry. I have zero mental strength right now. Like they just won’t let me go. Regrets my loss. Everyone was ready with their knives,” wrote Phogat.