For Vinesh Phogat wrestling is her world. She dreams, eats and breathes wrestling and is eager to return to training in full swing to for coronavirus-deferred Tokyo Olympics. Nonetheless, until things normalise the world medallist is training hard with her sister Priyanka. The wrestler was recently nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the consecutive year by Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). However, she says that there are no expectations as “I am enjoying every second of my life”.
Phogat has already won the Arjuna award, India’s second-highest sporting award owing to her performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Haryana girl received the award from the then President Pranab Mukherjee. She says that it was her childhood dream to become an Arjuna awardee and she is grateful that she attended the ceremony despite on wheelchair due to her knee injury. “I wanted to get the Arjuna Award since childhood. But look when I was honoured I was on the wheelchair. I had second thoughts on whether I should attend the ceremony or not. But today, when I look back, I am glad I decided to go otherwise I would have regretted it my whole life”, she told TV9Bharat.
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She is the only Indian women wrestler to have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, thanks to her medal-winning performance in 53kg division at 2019 Nur-Sultan worlds. The 2018 Asian Games champion will be the second wrestler from the famed ‘Phogat family’ to don the Indian singlet at the Olympics — first being her cousin sister Geeta Phogat in 2012 London Games. Carrying the name of Phogat’s brings with it immense pressure but the 26-year-old has now learned to deal with it. “When people get to know that I belong from the same Phogat family as Geeta and Babita (cousins), then the expectations increase. Sure, I like it very much when people expect from me. Initially, there was a lot of pressure, especially at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. But now I have been playing at the senior level for a long time. Now, I have experience and know how to withstand the pressure and how to ignore the negative vibes,” she added.
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Phogat won gold in the 48kg division. She is also the 2018 CWG champion and with it became the first Indian women wrestler to win both CWG and Asian Games gold medals. But the Olympic medal is still elusive to her medal cabinet. She says “I did not think I will get gold (at CWG and Asian Games in 2018). My focus was on doing my best. I do not think about the medal. Because if you start thinking about the medal that you have to win gold, then you come under pressure. This may divert your attention from your performance. So I just prepare to give my best”. “My strategy is to pay attention to my opponent’s game. Because it is also important to know the opponent’s stakes, his strength and lack. It helps you a lot. In the Olympics next year, my goal would be to give my best there,” she concluded.