Vinesh Phogat competing at the Paris Olympics. Even a few months ago, that would have been almost unthinkable given the year she'd had in 2023. It was a year where she protested against the national wrestling federation chief, slept on New Delhi's pavements for 40 days, was beaten and dragged by the police, nearly immersed all her medals in the Ganga river and underwent knee surgery.
After all this, she had to go through the unforgiving Olympic qualification process to seal her spot in Paris. Lesser athletes would have cracked under the pressure.
Vinesh responded in the only way she could. She fought her way back to full fitness well ahead of the prescribed time, fought trials in multiple weight categories and eventually won that quota to compete at the Paris Olympics. And became the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for three successive Olympics.
This is the story of 18 months in the life of Vinesh Phogat, one of the most extraordinary athletes India has produced:
January 2023:
Vinesh Phogat, along with Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and a few other prominent wrestlers take to New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on January 18 to protest against the then WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Vinesh and other women wrestlers accuse Brij Bhushan of sexual abuse and also issuing death threats. The wrestlers call off their protests four days later after receiving assurances from the Sports Ministry that their grievances would be addressed.
Inquilab, not yet zindabad: India's athletes ask tough questions of failing support system
April 2023:
Vinesh is set to travel to Sweden to train for the upcoming Asian Games and World Championships but chooses to stay back to track the developments in her complaints against Brij Bhushan. On April 23, the wrestlers return to Jantar Mantar to continue their protest since they had filed a police complaint, but an FIR was not filed.
Champions of a greater game: Vinesh, Bajrang, Sakshi risk it all for justice
May 2023:
Vinesh, Bajrang, Sakshi and Sangeeta Phogat, among the other protesting wrestlers, are detained by the Delhi Police after they started a march towards the new Parliament on the day of its inauguration. An FIR is lodged against them for disrupting peace. The wrestlers go to Haridwar on May 30 to immerse their medals in the river Ganga in protest.
Indian wrestlers' fight for their peers evokes spirit of Socrates and Corinthians
June 2023:
The chargesheet against Brij Bhushan is filed with various sexual offences including assault, sexual harassment and stalking. Vinesh and co. call off their sit-in protest and say their fight will now continue in the court and not on the roads. They go home after sleeping on the pavement for over 40 days.
'A tweet is not enough' - Vinesh on how the sports community stayed silent and let itself down
August 2023:
Vinesh announces that she will miss the Asian Games after suffering a knee injury during training. This was the second time Vinesh needed knee surgery after getting her knee operated on after the 2016 Olympics. This was after she received a direct spot at the Asian Games sans a trial, by the then-in charge ad-hoc committee, and received online backlash for that.
December 2023:
Vinesh returns to training in Bengaluru, along with South African strength and conditioning specialist Wayne Lombard, who had worked with her during the knee surgery in 2016 as well. Speaking to ESPN, Vinesh says she will qualify for the Olympics and a medal there would be her ultimate goal. It seems incredibly hard at this point, but she is determined.
Empire strikes back: Wrestling election sees return of tainted old guard, spurns chance to change
The WFI elections are conducted and Sanjay Singh, from the Brij Bhushan camp, is elected President. Vinesh and her fellow wrestlers protest the result, with Sakshi Malik announcing her retirement from the game and Vinesh and Bajrang returning their Khel Ratnas and Arjuna Awards to the government.
2023: the year wrestling changed everything, and yet things remained the same
February 2024:
Vinesh makes a full comeback at the nationals in February and wins gold in the 55kg division. It's only her second competition in 17 months. She makes a successful return to the mat and the path to Paris well and truly opens up.
March 2024:
Trials are held to determine who will wrestle for the Olympic quotas at the Asian qualifiers and subsequent World qualifiers. Vinesh does the unthinkable: she competes in the 50kg and 53kg categories because she fears the WFI may not conduct a final trial in her main event - the 53kg - in which Antim Panghal had already won the Olympic quota.
After getting an assurance from the ad-hoc committee, which was then in charge of the WFI - she competed in both categories and won the 50kg trials. Here she was, making a full comeback after nearly 18 months and surgery, competing in two weight categories just to ensure she had a chance to win an Olympic quota.
April 2024:
Vinesh gets the job done and wins a quota for the Paris Olympics by beating Laura Ganikyzy in the semifinal of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers.
This was Vinesh's first international competition since her comeback. Even though, she won her the quota, but the WFI still had the power to decide who would represent India at the Olympics. They later said there wouldn't be any trials and that the wrestlers who won the quota would compete in Paris, meaning Vinesh would become the first Indian woman wrestler to compete in three straight Olympic campaigns.
Vinesh Phogat's Paris Olympics quota: Why it's more than just a big sporting moment
August 2024:
Flies to Paris and will now compete in the 2024 Olympics on Tuesday, August 6. It's a different weight category, but not one that is new to her. She enjoyed one of her career's most successful years in the 50kg division in 2018, winning gold at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games and silver at the Asian Championships.
Path to Paris: Vinesh has already won the battle of her life. Now she faces the battle of her career
It's not going to be easy to return to the 50kg category after five years, but with Vinesh, these past 18 months have underlined that she simply doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'impossible.'