Vinesh Phogat is on a three-week break from wrestling. And, it is a well-deserved one. For, she worked her way to qualify for Tokyo Olympics in 2020 along with clinching her first World Championships medal — a bronze — in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, last week.
Phogat suffered defeat at the hands of Japan's Mayu Mukaida in the second round before going through the repechage rounds to bag bronze as well as clinch the Olympic berth.
The 25-year-old wants to call this her second birth after the dreaded knee injury she suffered during the Rio Olympics in 2016 which not only ruled out her out of the mega event but also put her into a forced break.
Phogat is not thinking about the Olympics now. "Right now I am not thinking about anything. I want to keep myself free and relaxed after the hard work we had put before and during the Worlds. I will start thinking about my Olympic target once I start training again. We will plan and see what we should do before Tokyo," Phogat tells DNA.
"It's a three-week rest. I haven't planned a holiday. Maybe I will go to relatives' places. I have plans to visit Bajrangbali Temple in Rajasthan," she adds.
Qualification for the quadrennial event was on top of the mind when she entered the tournament and she is relieved that she has achieved it. "Ek relief lag raha hai (There is some kind of relief). First my target was to qualify for the World Championships. Once done, the next was Olympics. Now we have one full year to work on each and every thing before the Tokyo event," an elated Phogat reveals.
As she fought her opponents in 53 kg category, Phogat says her personal coach, Woller Akos of Hungary, had marked a few mistakes during her bouts. "Coach ne kaafi ghalti pakdi competition ke dauraan (Coach pointed out a lot of mistakes during the competition. He kept giving me instructions. I would listen but could not follow while I fought. Yes, coach has picked a few weaknesses but hasn't discussed yet. He told me to take rest and he doesn't want to put any kind of thoughts or pressure on my mind. Once I am back on the mat, we will start working on it soon," she says.
(Vinesh Phogat with her medal in Delhi - PTI)
Phogat was one of the strongest medal hopes in Rio before she suffered a major setback when she injured her knee in her bout against Sun Yanan. The memory kept recurring as she carried on her rehabilitation. "The memories from Rio would keep coming back. There were times when I questioned myself whether I would be able to fight again because I have seen athletes at the peak break down after injury and never come back. Yes, there were thoughts but I did not let it have any negative impact on me, rather it would make me stubborn that I want to come back any how. The memories of Rio will always remain till I win a medal in Tokyo."
Phogat says her return from injury was not easy. "There were doubts in my mind, that's why things were difficult during my return initially. Then I followed up with gold in Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. My confidence returned big time. Yeh mera dusra janam tha (My second coming is like reincarnation). I was always scared of injuries and surgeries, and this happened. But then I came back and I am so happy."
It was only this year that Phogat switched to 53kg, however, it wasn't easy to do the same and her coach needed a lot of convincing. "It was quite difficult to switch. I had won medals in 48kg, 50kg but to change not only needed me to put on weight but had to fight some tough opponents, thus it was mental too. The coach made me believe that I can beat anybody. It took 3-4 months for me to convince myself and believe that I can do it. There were thoughts that I would risk and it would be difficult, but my coach told me to try once or else I can go back. But my success gave me a lot of confidence," she adds.
So, what made convinced her to return after injury or switch to a new weight category? "The thing is that I have been a gritty child. I don't like losing. If someone gives me a challenge, then I don't give up till I succeed. However, the only person who can convince me is myself," Phogat says.
