Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was given a grand welcome from the villagers in Balali at Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana on Saturday night, August 17.
Phogat returned to India just a day after the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) dismissed her petition for a joint silver medal following her disqualification from the gold medal match due to overweight issues at Paris Olympics 2024.
Despite the heartbreaking end to her Paris Olympics’ campaign, emotional Vinesh Phogat received a rousing reception upon her arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. She was grandly welcomed by the crowd and her fellow wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, who were waiting outside the airport to welcome her.
After arriving in Delhi, Phogat headed straight to her village in Charkhi Dadri district, where she received a grand welcome by a large gathering of villagers. In a video that went viral on social media, the villagers can be gathering around the car where she was sitting atop of it.
Vinesh Phogat receives a warm welcome as she arrives at her village Balali in Charkhi Dadri.
She arrived in Delhi from Paris on Saturday morning after participating in the road show..
Huge respect for this athletic..#vineshphogat pic.twitter.com/tFAbQvN0V6
— DON SRINU (@srinu18_srinu) August 17, 2024
In another video, Vinesh Phogat’s uncle and former national wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat was seen hugging and blessing her niece as she returned to her village with a grand welcome despite not winning her maiden Olympic medal due to disqualification from the gold medal bout at the Paris Olympics 2024. Mahavir kept his words that Vinesh would be welcomed as a gold medalist.
VIDEO | Wrestler Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) meets her uncle Mahavir Phogat upon her arrival in Balali, Haryana.
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/dv5TRAShcC) pic.twitter.com/IUp2dn30vc
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 17, 2024