Quick Info – Height: 5’ 3” / Husband: Somvir Rathee / Age: 29 Years
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Profession | Freestyle Wrestler |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 160 cm in meters- 1.60 m in feet Inches- 5’ 3” |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms- 56 kg in pounds- 123 lbs |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Wrestling | |
| Category | 48 kg/50 kg/53 kg |
| International Debut | Asian Wrestling Championships (2013) |
| Retirement | 8 August 2024 |
| Coach/Mentors | • Mahavir Singh Phogat • Woller Akos |
| Medals | World Championships • 2019: Bronze medal – third place at Sultan in 53 kg Commonwealth Games • 2014: Gold medal – first place at Glasgow in 48 kg • 2018: Gold medal – first place at Gold Coast in 50 kg Asian Games • 2018: Gold medal – first place at Jakarta in 50 kg • 2014: Bronze medal – third place at Incheon in 48 kg Asian Championships • 2021: Gold medal – first place at Almaty in 53 kg • 2015: Silver medal – second place at Doha in 48 kg • 2017: Silver medal – second place at New Delhi in 55 kg • 2018: Silver medal – second place at Bishkek in 50 kg • 2018: Bronze medal – third place at New Delhi in 51 kg • 2016: Bronze medal – third place at Bangkok in 53 kg • 2019: Bronze medal – third-place at Xi’an in 53 kg • 2020: Bronze medal – third place at New Delhi in 53 kg Youth Wrestling Championship • 2013: Silver medal – second place at Johannesburg in 51 kg |
| Record | Became the first Indian female wrestler to compete for Gold in an Olympic final (6 August 2024) |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 25 August 1994 (Thursday) |
| Age (as of 2023) | 29 Years |
| Birthplace | Balali, Haryana, India |
| Zodiac sign | Virgo |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Balali, Haryana, India |
| School | K C M Sr Sec School Jhojhu Kalan, Haryana |
| College/University | MDU, Rohtak, Haryana |
| Hobbies | Reading |
| Controversy | Protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
On 18 January 2023, Vinesh Phogat along with wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik held a sit-in protest against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Phogat alleged that the WFI officials and coaches were harassing women. She also made allegations against the WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for sexually harassing many girls. She said, “Some coaches who are favourites of the federation misbehave with women coaches as well. They sexually harass girls. The WFI president has sexually harassed so many girls.” Later, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh denied the allegations and said that there was no incident of sexual harassment. He also questioned why the protesting wrestlers never approached the federation for the past ten years and said that he would hang himself if the allegations will be proved true. Mr. Sharan Singh quoted, “If such a thing has happened, then I will hang myself.” On 3 May 2023, she levelled charges against Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur for suppressing the matter and said that it is tough to stand against a powerful person who is misusing his power and position. She said, “We ended our protest after talking to Union Sports Minister (Anurag Thakur), and all the athletes had told him about the sexual harassment. By forming a committee, he tried to suppress the matter there; no action was taken that time.” On 25 June 2023, wrestlers called of their protest and decided to battle it out in court. |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affairs/Boyfriends | Somvir Rathee (Wrestler) |
| Marriage Date | 13 December 2018 |
| Marriage Place | Balali village, Charkhi Dadri district, Haryana |
| Family | |
| Husband | Somvir Rathee (m. 2018-present) |
| Parents | Father– Rajpal Singh Phogat (Died) Mother– Prem Lata Phogat  |
| Siblings | Brother– Harvinder Phogat Sister– Priyanka Phogat (Wrestler)  Babita Kumari (Westler, Cousin), Ritu Phogat (Wrestler, Cousin), Geeta Phogat (Wrestler, Cousin)  |
| Favourites | |
| Actor | Salman Khan |
| Actress | Preity Zinta, Katrina Kaif, Madhuri Dixit, Priyanka Chopra |
| Film | ABCD2, Kal Ho Na Ho, Jodha Akbar, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Hera Pheri, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag |
| Singer | Neha Kakkar |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Vinesh Phogat
- Vinesh Phogat is a renowned Indian wrestler. In Commonwealth and Asian Games, she became the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold medals in both events. In 2019, she was regarded as the first woman athlete in India who was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards.
- Vinesh is the niece of renowned Indian wrestler, Mahavir Singh Phogat (amateur wrestler & senior Olympics Coach).
- As her father expired quite early, she was raised by a single parent, her mother.
- In 2013, she won the bronze medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi, India in the match with her opponent “Tho-Kaew Sriprapa” of Thailand in the women’s freestyle 52 kg category.
- In 2013, she won a silver medal at Common-wealth Wrestling Championships organised in Johannesburg, South Africa in the women’s freestyle 51 kg category. “Odunayo Adekuoroye” of Nigeria defeated her in this exclusive tournament.
- In 2014, she won a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the women’s freestyle 48 kg category. In this match, she defeated her opponent “Yana Rattigan” of England to win the gold.
- In 2014, she won a bronze medal at Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea in the women’s freestyle 48 kg category. Vinesh defeated her opponent “Narangerel Eredenesukh” of Mongolia in this championship.
- In 2015, Vinesh won a silver medal at Asian Championships organised in Doha. She was defeated by her opponent “Yuki Irie” of Japan in the finals.
- Based on her and her family’s life, a biopic film Dangal was made by “Aamir Khan” in 2016 to showcase her path to success.
- In 2016, Vinesh won the final round of the match after defeating her opponent from Poland, “Iwona Matkowska”, and got qualified for the Rio – Olympics. Vinesh reached the Quarter Finals at the Summer Olympics in Rio in 2016. She lost to the “Sun Yanan” of China and received a knee injury.
- Vinesh went to receive her Arjuna award on a wheelchair in 2016. In an interview, she shared her experience,
“I refused to go. I had just undergone the (knee) operation and didn’t want anyone to see me in that condition. But my doctor “Dinshaw Pardiwala” asked me to go. When I went there people wanted my pictures, interview. It made me feel insecure and I wanted to run away because emotionally you are scattered.”
- ‘Vinesh’ got married to her fellow wrestler ‘Somvir Rathee’ on 13 December 2018. They both are Indian railway’s employees and at the workplace, they fell in love with each other.
- In 2018, she appeared in a video interview and shared her childhood wrestling experience.
- In 2018, she won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in women’s 50 kg freestyle wrestling.
- In 2018, she won a gold medal in women’s 50 kg freestyle wrestling at the Asian Games by defeating her opponent “Yuki Irie” of Japan. On winning this gold medal, she became the first Indian women wrestler to win the gold in Asian Games.
- In 2018, she was also presented with the woman of the year award by Vogue India.
- In 2019, Vinesh won a bronze medal by defeating her opponent “Qianyu Pang” of China in the Asi
- In 2019, she won a gold medal by defeating her opponent “Ekaterina Poleshchuk” of Russia in the Yasar Dogu International.
- In 2019, she bagged her third gold medal for the straight three years at the Poland Open wrestling championships in Warsaw in the women 53 kg category.
- In 2019, “Vinesh” won a maiden World Championship medal at World Wrestling Championships in the women’s 53 kg category and qualified herself for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
- Vinesh won a gold medal in January 2020 after defeating her opponent “Luisa Elizabeth Valverde” in Rome Ranking Series.
- In an interview, she was asked about her practice for Tokyo Olympics amid the lockdown period in 2020. She said, Yes, I train twice a day. But I also make sure to take all the precautions necessary to keep Coronavirus at bay. I wash my hands regularly before and after training. Also, I only train with my sister Priyanka.
- In 2020, she won the sportswoman of the year award (Individual).
- In February 2021, she won a gold medal in a tournament held in ”Kyiv, Ukraine”, by defeating her opponent “Vanesa Kaladzinskay”.
- In 2021, at Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series events, Vinesh Phogat won her second gold medal. She defeated “Diana Mary Helen Weicker” of Canada from 4-0.
- In 2021, at the Poland Open, ‘Phogat’ won a gold medal in the women’s 53 kg category and reserved herself for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
- According to Vinesh, “Kaori Icho” of Japan was her inspiration in wrestling. In a conversation with a media house, she revealed,
“Kaori Icho” of Japan has been an inspiration for me. She is four-time Olympics medallist (2004-2016). She is still competing to qualify for Tokyo.
- After winning her semi-final match at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Vinesh announced that she would not participate in any future Olympic tournaments.
- ➡️On 7 August 2024, Vinesh was disqualified from the Paris Olympics before her women’s 50-kg final wrestling match after she was found to be 100 grams overweight. Later, India protested against the decision of the officials.
- 🔻After her disqualification, Phogat retired from wrestling. She, on social media, wrote,
“Wrestling won the match against me, I lost My courage is all broken, I don’t have any strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will forever be in your debt.”
- ➡️On 7 August 2024, Vinesh and the IOA filed a plea against the disqualification of the wrestler at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), demanding that she be awarded a joint silver medal.
- #️⃣Thereafter, renowned Indian advocate ‘Harish Salve’ took – over her case to represent her at the ‘CAS’.
