Vinesh Phogat berates critics post shock defeat, reminds ‘athletes don’t work like robots’
Vinesh Phogat recently the first female wrestler to win two medals at the World Wrestling Championships after winning bronze in Belgrade.
Vinesh Phogat made history a couple of days back by becoming the first female wrestler to win two medals at the World Wrestling Championships. Phogat won the bronze medal in the 53kg after defeating Sweden’s Emma Jonna Malmgren. The 28-year-old Indian had previously bagged a bronze in the 2019 edition in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Despite winning the medal, Phogat received a lot of flak on social media following her opening round loss to Mongolia’s Khulan Batkhuyag. The wrestler on Sunday, September 18 took to social media and hit back at her critics.
Vinesh Phogat asks athletes to show compassion toward their dream without fearing people
Phogat managed to win bronze after making it to the repechage round after Batkhuyag reached the final. In her extensive statement on Twitter, the Indian wrestler hit back at her critics, stating that people consider themselves experts while sitting at home. She even spoke about the hardships and struggles that an athlete goes through. Phogat in her statement wrote, “Athletes are humans and while being an athlete is a huge part of who we are, it doesn’t mean we work like robots every time a tournament is announced. Not sure if this culture is in every country or this is just India where we have so many experts sitting at home”.
“Every individual, professional or not, has chased hardships, struggles and challenges through their journey. The difference is the world does not comment and criticise them thinking they are experts on those professionals and their careers. But we have many who consider themselves as experts on sports who think they know the efforts, the hardships and what goes into training an athlete.”
In the post, Phogat raised questions about why athletes need to be answerable to experts who pass comments instead of extending their support. She wrote “Why are we as athletes answerable to them about every detail when all athletes get back to comment on how they should train, what they should do instead of support and encouragement when times are tough?
Is it very discouraging when people assume they can comment on when athletes should stop or end their careers and when they should play and not play? A win always does not mean that an athlete has done anything extra extraordinary and a loss does not mean that the athlete has not tried during that game. Winning and losing is a part of every athlete’s journey and the athletes try hard each time”.
The triple Commonwealth Games gold medalist questioned whether fans in other countries criticise their athlete’s performance. She said “When we are criticised for not getting a medal every single time do these so-called fan experts know what efforts, resources and preparation go into this process? And do they know what goes into the preparation of the athletes they compare us with? Do the supporters from the other countries also criticise their athletes in the same way and manner?”
She added, “It is very easy to comment on these things because for them it’s just one day of their life after watching a match, what they don’t realise is these things can seriously drag along and affect the athletes’ state, their mood, especially in difficult times. Things are great with social media now connecting all fans and supporters but times were simpler when social media was not involved to spread these comments and negative criticism.”
Phogat concluded her statement by asking athletes to mute the criticism and focus on their goals. “It’s true that not everyone will understand your vision and dream, people will question your methods until they see it on the scoreboard. But as athletes, if we give up too early or lose courage too soon, we may never reach that turning point.
Here’s to all my fellow athletes who have the courage to repeatedly put themselves through a difficult journey and show compassion towards their dream without fearing people. My dear athletes, we are all on the same page and have similar journeys. Hopefully, someday we will try to change this culture with our consistent efforts, courage and dedication.”
Vinesh Phogat career
Apart from winning three Commonwealth gold medals, Vinesh has won a total of eight medals at the Asian Championships which includes one gold. She has also won two medals at the Asian Games. She won the gold medal in the 2018 Jakarta games and a bronze in the 2014 Incheon games. both the medals came in the 48kg category. She has also won a bronze medal at the 2019 and 2022 World Championships and a silver medal at the Youth Wrestling Championships.
