They say grief comes in stages.

You could see all of them expressed on the face of Vinesh Phogat on Saturday evening. Her return to competitive action two years after she suffered the heaviest of heartbreaks at the Paris Olympics had ended short of the finish she had hoped for.

Time had run out in the semifinals of the selection trials to pick the Indian team for the Asian Games and, with it, Vinesh’s run. 3-6 read the digital scoreboard at New Delhi’s KD Jadhav Indoor stadium in favour of her opponent Meenakshi Hooda.

First, there was denial.

Meenakshi had been fleeing in the last few seconds. She had been twisting Vinesh’s fingers throughout the bouts. According to the rules, both invoked automatic warnings and point penalties. Throughout the bout though, no points had been awarded against her. In that final second, though, Vinesh challenged the call. The judges agreed. Her score improved to 4-6. Still a loss.

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There was disbelief.

In the 14 years since she had first stepped on the mat in the national setup – with the exception of a bout that she had in all likelihood forfeited a few years back – Vinesh had never been beaten in a domestic competition. As Meenakshi flexed her bicep in celebration, that record had been snapped.

There was anger as well.

It had taken the full extent of Vinesh’s formidable determination to even make it this far. After her heartbreak at the Paris Olympics, where she was disqualified after failing to make weight on the morning of her gold medal match, she had taken an extended break from the sport. Less than a year ago, she had become a mother. When she tried to make a return to wrestling, a clearly biased national federation tried everything possible to deny her the chance to do so.

It seemed that, if it was up to them, she wouldn’t even have competed in the trials. Back in 2023, Vinesh alongside two other wrestlers had taken on the weight of the Wrestling Federation of India after accusing the then president of financial and sexual impropriety. She’d taken him to court – the case is still ongoing. New elections had been conducted but known associates of the old president continue to occupy the highest posts.

Rules and policies had been announced ostensibly for every wrestler but, in reality, very obviously directed at Vinesh. There were attempts at petty torments too. She had been prevented from competing in qualification tournaments. She had attempted to make her return at the Wrestling Ranking Series in Gonda but was sent back after travelling 600km without being allowed to register. She was handed show cause notices for the vaguest of perceived slights from years back. The federation finally had to be shamed and then forced by the highest courts of the land to even let her compete.

Important officials from the same organisation were watching her bout from seats on the side of the mat on Saturday, barely a few feet away from the action. They clapped every time Vinesh’s opponent scored. There were undisguisedly partisan gleeful smiles at the result.

Vinesh saw all of this. As it became clear there was nothing more she could do, tears stained her face. She blinked them away as long as she could. She returned to the corner that her team had carved out on one side of the indoor hall. Her husband Somvir tried to encourage her to be brave. It only worked for that long. Surrounded by video cameras and clicking phones, the facade of Vinesh’s resolve finally cracked as she took off her shoes and socks and packed away her things.

It was over. At least for now, her fight had ended. She wept freely.

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‘A fair chance’

Eventually, Vinesh gathered composure and stepped up to address the media after her bout. She thanked the courts for giving her the chance to compete in the trials.

“All I wanted was the chance to get a fair chance. It wasn’t fair but at least I got a chance,” she said.

It would be hard to argue against that.

Early on Saturday morning, when she arrived to make weight ahead of the trials, Vinesh was made to vault her first hurdle. A day after the WFI had been directed by the Supreme Court to let her compete in the trials (which itself came a week after the Delhi High Court had mandated the same thing), Vinesh was presented with a May 28-dated circular stating that she would only be allowed to compete in the women’s 50kg category rather than the 53kg class she had prepared to weigh in for. The order mentioned she had competed in the 50kg category at the Paris Olympics and should compete in the same category for the trials.

The WFI’s circular was an obviously cynical distraction. Vinesh plea to the High Court had been to let her compete specifically in the 53kg category. She pointed out that several wrestlers who had qualified for the selection trials had also won medals in separate weight categories than the one they were competing in the trials.

The circular was suspiciously dated. It was seemingly issued on May 28, in which it said Vinesh was permitted to compete in the trials. A day later, the WFI would go to the Supreme Court challenging Vinesh’s right to do the same.

It was also in violation of the court order.

On Saturday, after an hour, Vinesh was permitted to compete in the 53kg category. Those around her said it was simply meant to needle her.

“It was just something to distract her from focusing on her competition. When they saw that Vinesh was drinking water, (WFI president) Sanjay Singh said, ‘I have a big heart. You should compete on the mat.’ They probably hoped that she would not be able to make her weight,” a member of her entourage said.

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If that was the plan, it didn’t work out. Vinesh weighed in at 53.9 kg, 100 gm under the weight limit for her competition (at the trials wrestlers were permitted to weigh in 1 kg over the weight category they were competing in).

The last minute obstacle didn’t stop her but Vinesh admitted it had started to drain her.

“I was fighting for one hour before I was allowed to give weight. The time I should have spent in recovery I spent arguing,” she said later.

Against all odds

Even if the playing field hadn’t been tampered with, the odds were already stacked against Vinesh. Despite her caliber – a two time World medallist, three time Olympian and an Asian Games gold medallist – she was still returning from an extended break. The long layoff would be hard for anyone to overcome, leave alone a 32-year-old wrestler who had undergone the tremendous bodily changes that come along with pregnancy.

Unable to compete in any domestic competition she was returning to action straight against India’s best wrestlers in her weight division. Her first opponent was Jyoti, a silver medalist at the Asian Junior Championships. The ring rust was real. Her first take down attempt, something the Vinesh of two years ago would have completed in her sleep, was stuffed. Vinesh was nearly taken down herself before restricting the damage to a single step out point. She eventually won that bout 7-1 but it was evident that this was a uniquely vulnerable Vinesh in action.

That became even more clear in her second bout when 2025 U-23 World bronze medallist Nishu threw Vinesh over her shoulder and was seconds away from securing the pin only being denied by the whistle at the end of the first period.

When Vinesh returned the favour early in the second period though, the action was inexplicably halted when she was close to securing a pin of her own. Although Vinesh finally won the bout by a 7-6 decision, this wouldn’t be the first time that a judging decision went against her.

That would happen again in Vinesh’s third bout of the day against the Asian bronze medallist Meenakshi. The latter is known to be a busy if unorthodox wrestler. Throughout the bout, she constantly stopped Vinesh’s attacks not through movement but by interlocking her fingers in Vinesh’s and twisting them sharply. There were multiple occasions when Vinesh complained to the referee but Meenakshi was never cautioned. Ironically in Meenakshi’s final match of the day, she attempted the same tactic against two-time world medallist Antim Panghal and was both warned and received a point penalty right away.

There was a time when Vinesh would have found a way to deal with these methods, but the person on the mat on Saturday was someone still working towards regaining past form. With twenty seconds to go, Vinesh, then trailing 3-4, attempted a single leg take down, but was a fraction of a second too slow. The move was countered with Meenakshi going behind and shovelling Vinesh down to secure the match-deciding take down.

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Determined to return

Her comeback might have ended with disappointment and it’s uncertain what the future holds for Vinesh. Not everyone thinks this is it for her, though.

“She wrestled brilliantly for someone who hadn’t wrestled a competitive match for two years. The mistakes she made were because of a lack of competition. Give her one or two more competitions and she will be beating all these girls,” said a coach at the venue who didn’t want to be named for fear of rubbing the federation the wrong way.

It remains to be seen where Vinesh can get those competitions. She’s unlikely to get any favours from the federation. The only guarantee are more years of struggle and resistance. She’s made her peace with it though.

“I know the system was against me and it will continue to work against me. But I will work so hard that I’ll leave the system behind me,” she said.

Indeed, that was the final expression that crossed her face. There was an acceptance of her fate but also defiance. Those who seemed to take joy in her loss also know that they have not seen the last of Vinesh Phogat.

Before she left the competition mat for the final time for the day, Vinesh turned around and looked straight at where the WFI officials were seated.

As she caught their eye, she pointed her index finger down at the mat.

“ Wapas aungi isi mat pe (I’m going to come back on this very same mat)” she said. 

Published on May 31, 2026