Wrestler Vinesh Phogat made headlines this week when she alleged that the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had sexually harassed women wrestlers for many years.
The 28-year-old was joined by other prominent wrestlers, including Olympic medal winner Sakshi Malik, at a protest in Delhi's Jantar Mantar against Wrestling Federation of India and its president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has denied the allegations.
Phogat said she had not suffered sexual harassment herself but knew about 20 women who did. "I have received death threats from people who are close to the WFI President," she claimed.
Vinesh Phogat: Wrestling Federation sexually exploited women wrestlers
Amid the raging controversy, here are 10 things to know about Vinesh Phogat:
- Vinesh Phogat is the winner of three Commonwealth Games gold medals in wrestling and one Asian Games gold medal. She also won a bronze at the World Championships in 2019.
- She belongs to one of India's best known wrestling families. She is the cousin of wrestlers Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari, who were the subject of the 2016 film Dangal.
- Vinesh Phogat lost her father she was just nine and it was her uncle Mahavir Singh Phogat who guided her to a wrestling career
- She participated in several junior championships before winning big on the international stage. Her first major title was a gold in the 48-kg category at the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
- At 21, she participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She reached the quarter-final stage but could not win a medal for India.
- In 2018, she brought home a gold medal from the Commonwealth Games, bringing her tally up to two. She also wrote history at the Asian Games by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to clinch a gold at the continental multi-sport event.
- Phogat won her first World Championships medal at Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, in 2019.
- The victory set her up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There were high hopes from her but Phogat crashed out in the quarterfinal stage. The loss and the ensuing criticism left her shattered and she began considering if she should take a break from wrestling.
- She emerged stronger in 2021, winning a gold at the 2021 Asian Championships. In 2022, she won another Commonwealth gold, this time in Birmingham.
- Phogat is the winner of the the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honour, as well as the Arjuna Award.
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