Wrestler Vinesh Phogat's last 30 seconds of her final bout at the Asian Wrestling championship were all about the quality wrestler that she is. She tried hard, very hard, to earn some crucial points and turn things around till the hooter went off. She couldn't overhaul the score she had conceded while going into the bout against her Japanese opponent Sae Nanjo, but her eagerness to win was there for all to see.
As she walked back towards the warm up/cool down area, disappointment and anger were written all over her face. She won a silver in the 55 kg weight category on Friday night at the Asian Wrestling Championship, currently underway at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, New Delhi. She sat on the mat outside the playing arena, near the rest of her Indian teammates and coaches, seething. She wouldn't speak to anybody, nor listen, even to her coaches, as teammate Sakshi Malik prepared for her final bout.
It has been nine months since she last competed at the international level. One of India's medal hopefuls at Rio Olympics, Vinesh suffered a knee injury during her 48 kg quarter final bout at the 2016 Olympics. She underwent surgery, followed by intensive rehab for over six months before she could actually get back on the mat. This was the longest the 22-year-old had stayed from the mat ever. She had been wrestling from the age of 5. A silver at the Asian Championships would be par for course, more so given the tough competition at the Asian championships, but Vinesh was not happy. As she regained her breath, she combed her hair, retying them in the two pigtails she sports
Eventually, when she did speak, she had reconciled with the silver medal and decided to look at the gains from the event. “For me this tournament was a big thing. Even playing in the muddy akhada in Ambala after the injury was a big thing for me. I could feel everything falling in place—my technique, my game, my mentality and self belief that I am indeed back!,” she said.
The chief national coach for women's wrestling, Kuldeep Malik wasn't complaining. “I am totally satisfied with her performance today. This is her first real competition after a long time, also, its over two categories above her normal weight category, what she has done on her comeback from injury is sufficient,” he said. He admitted that initially, Vinesh did carry the thought of her injury.
Vinesh's teammate and Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik, too, had to settle for a silver in the finals of the 60 kg category. She was blanked out by Olympic champion Risako Kawai 10-0. Post Rio celebrations and marriage to wrestler Satyavrat Kadiyan, Malik had less time to prepare. She looked less agile and slow in reacting. Speaking after the bout, Malik said, “Kawai is very experienced wrestler and an Olympic gold medalist. It was a good learning experience for me.”
