Vinesh Phogat claims she refused PM Modi's call after Olympics setback, says conditions put for recording

Vinesh Phogat, now a Congress candidate from Julana assembly, retired from wrestling after she was disqualified ahead of the women's 50 kg freestyle final.

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who recently announced her retirement after being disqualified from the Paris 2024 Olympics, claimed that she refused to speak with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the disqualification. Phogat, now a Congress candidate for the Julana seat in the Haryana assembly elections, said she declined the call because she did not want her emotions and efforts to be exploited for political purposes.

Former wrestler and Congress candidate from Julana constituency Vinesh Phogat during her nomination filing for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, in Jind district.(PTI)

“The call had come (from PM) but I refused to speak. The call did not come directly to me but Indian officials who were there informed me that he (PM Modi) wanted to talk. I was ready. However, they put conditions — no one from my team would be present, while two people from their side would record the conversation for social media,” she said in an interview with The Lallantop.

“I didn’t want my emotions and hard work to be made fun of on social media.”

Phogat said she would have appreciated a genuine call from the prime minister without the condition of publicising the conversation.

“If he truly cared about athletes, he could have called without recording it, and I would have been grateful,” she said, adding that she believes Modi’s office imposed conditions to control the narrative.

“Maybe he knows if I speak to Vinesh she will ask about the last two years. Maybe that’s why I was instructed that there will be no phone from my side because they can edit (video) from their end but I will not edit. I will post the original video. So they denied.”

Protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

Phogat, who was disqualified from her 50kg wrestling final at the Olympics for missing weight by just 100 grams, has been vocal about her disappointment with Modi’s silence on the protest against then wrestling federation chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Vinesh and other wrestlers including Sakshi Malik, an Olympic bronze medalist, were the faces of a months-long protest demanding criminal action against Singh.