Vinesh almost quit after Tokyo debacle

New Delhi, August 13

Vinesh Phogat today said she nearly quit wrestling after failing a second time to win a medal at the Olympics in Tokyo before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pep talk rejuvenated her to continue.

While a knee injury in the quarterfinals dashed her hopes at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Vinesh crashed out in the last-eight stage in Tokyo despite entering her weight category as the world No. 1.

Vinesh admitted that the two disappointments pushed her to the brink of quitting wrestling, long before she discovered her true self with gold at the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

“Definitely, you can say that (Vinesh 2.0 reloaded). I have managed to cross a big mental barrier. I almost gave up wrestling because in two Olympics I couldn’t win a medal. Olympics is the biggest stage for an athlete. But my family always backed me, they always trust in my abilities,” the star wrestler said. “When I was low, I met Modi ji (Narendra Modi) and he gave me motivation. He said ‘we trust you and you can do it’. That reignited the spark in me.”

Vinesh said the support she got from her family and fans also kept her motivated to keep going. “I always have the passion to win. My family is always supportive of what I am doing,” she said.