Bengaluru: In the space of less than 24 hours, Indian wrestling has seen everything possible at the Paris Olympics from losing a sure shot medal to an Indian wrestler getting caught in the indiscipline fiasco.
Vinesh Phogat got an unfortunate disqualification from the gold medal match due to being overweight by 100 grams and Antim Panghal was embroiled in a tough controversy to make it one of the toughest days for the Indian team at the Paris Olympics.
“I heard about Vinesh Didi’s news before my bout, got sad hearing that. She is an inspiration for all. She deserved that gold medal today,” said Antim Panghal to The Bridge over a video call from Paris late in the night.
“Today was not a good day for Indian wrestling. It was like one of the darkest days of Indian wrestling. I will make a strong comeback after this,” she further added.
The news of Vinesh Phogat broke around noon and nothing was the same for the Indian contingent. After Vinesh’s bout, Antim Panghal shockingly lost in the 53kg category against Turkish wrestler Zeynep Yetgil in the first round. Her chances for repechage were dashed when the Turkish wrestler lost in the next round.
Talking about her debut bout, Antim said, “I don’t think I had thought that someone would turn up like a brilliant match against me. I think it was the Olympic debut jitters for me.”
“I had my lessons from this trip to Paris and I would like to take my learnings and make a stronger comeback,” Antim concluded.
Within hours, the Indian wrestling fans went from happy to sad with first Vinesh being disqualified from the gold medal match of the 50kg category and then Antim losing to the Turkish wrestler in the first round.
A new controversy surfaced hours after the Indian Olympic Association decided to fly back Antim Panghal and her supporting staff. They have asked Antim and her entourage to leave France and go back to the country after a disciplinary protocol breach.
However, the wrestler refused to comment on the disciplinary issue but she and her entourage will be returning from Paris to India.
U20 World Champion Antim had a brilliant way to the 2024 Paris Olympics and booked the quota for the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning the bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships.
Antim would continue her good form and won a bronze medal at the 2023 Asian Games on her debut.
However, on the way to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Antim was having some issues with her body and played very little tournament keeping her away from more match practice.
While what happened to Antim can be termed as debut Olympic jitters and Vinesh’s incident could have played a role on her mind but it was a disappointment and questions will be asked.
Questions about accountability and questions about what exactly happened during those five hours completely turned around the fate of the Indian wrestling.