Vinesh Phogat is a retired Indian professional freestyle wrestler. She is a multiple times gold medalist at Commonwealth Games in 2014, 2018 and 2022 years. She became the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth and Asian Games. Isn’t that amazing? She is a three-time Olympian, having competed in three different weight classes, which are – 48kg in 2016, 53kg in 2020 and 50kg in 2024.
In 2024 Summer Olympics, held at Paris she became the first international wrestler to defeat the Olympic champion Yui Susaki, when she was wrestling for Olympic final. She became the first Indian female wrestler to reach an Olympic final on 6 August 20204. Later, she was disqualified after exceeding the stipulated weight by 100 grams on the second day of her event. That’s so minute… After her disqualification, she announced her retirement from the sport. Yeah, that would be really disappointing know? Well.. Let’s know about her in detail.
Family
Vinesh Phogat comes from a family of wrestlers. She is the daughter of Rajpal Phogat and Prem Lata Phogat. She has a brother, named Harvinder Phogat. Her sister Priyanka Phogat and cousins Geeta Phogat, Ritu Phogat and Babita Kumari are all wrestlers. She was trained by her uncle Mahavir Singh Phogat. During the early years, her father and her uncle had to deal with opposition from the community in their village. Despite the judgment of the society, her father and her uncle helped vinesh and her cousins to pursue competitive wrestling. They were really supportive, know?!
Education & Qualification
Phogat completed her schooling from K C M Sr Sec School, Jhojhu Kalan, Haryana. She graduated from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana.
Career
In 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships, held at New Delhi, India, Vinesh won the bronze medal in the women’s freestyle 51 kg category. In the subsequent Commonwealth Wrestling Championships held in Johannesburg, South Africa, she won the silver medal in the 51 kg category. In 2014 Commonwealth Games, she competed in 48kg category and won her first gold medal. The same year, she won a bronze medal in the Asian Games, held at Incheon, South Korea, in 48kg category. In 2025 Asian Championships, held at Doha, Qatar, she won a silver medal.
Phogat suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a match with Sun Yanan of China, in the quarterfinals of the Summer Olympics, held at Rio de Janeiro. In 2018 Commonwealth Games, held at Gold Coast, Australia, she participated in the 50kg category and won a Gold medal, by making a comeback.