It all ended in heartbreak for Vinesh Phogat on Saturday after the grappler failed to qualify for the Asian Games 2026. The 31-year-old lost to Meenakshi Goyat in the semi-finals of the 53kg event and thus failed to secure her place for the upcoming Games. Vinesh lost the bout 4-6. The entire trials on Saturday were a turbulent affair as Vinesh had to battle the odds and whatnot. Her quarter-final bout turned into a bitter feud involving coaches and officials from the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) at the Indira Gandhi International Stadium.
Vinesh did reach the semi-final, but not before some drama in the quarterfinal against Haryana’s Nishu. The incident happened when Vinesh was trailing 0-5.
(More to follow…)
