Wrestler Vinesh Phogat has been discharged from the hospital in Paris and was received by Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra after spending a night in medical care following dehydration issues.
Phogat needed medical attention after falling unconscious while trying to lose weight before her 50kg women's freestyle wrestling final at the Paris Olympics 2024.
Heartbreak for Vinesh
But the 29-year-old couldn't pass the test at the weigh-in on the morning of the final on Saturday after being 100 grams over 50 kilos. Phogat was eventually disqualified from the final bout and placed last in her wrestling event.
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What should have been a moment of triumph, with Phogat assured of at least a silver medal, turned into heartbreak as she was left with nothing. Images surfaced of Phogat receiving IV treatment in a hospital bed on Saturday, with Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha and other officials visiting her.
Bindra, the 2008 Beijing gold medalist, met with Phogat outside the hospital on Thursday and shared a picture of the same.
Netizens immediately noticed how weak Phogat was looking in the picture with swollen eyes.
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Phogat dropped a bomb on Thursday morning when she announced her retirement from wrestling after the heartbreak in Paris. Addressing her mother Premlata, Vinesh, a three-time Olympian, wrote, "Ma, wrestling has won, I have lost. Please forgive me, your dreams and my courage, everything is broken.
"I don't have any more strength now. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I shall be indebted to you all. Forgive (me)," added the two-time world championships bronze-medallist.
Phogat appeals to CAS
This announcement came just a day after Phogat appealed her Olympic disqualification to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking to be awarded a joint silver medal.
An ad-hoc CAS division, established to address disputes during the Olympics, is expected to review her appeal soon.
