Indian Olympic wrestler on being disqualified from gold medal match: ‘Your dream, my spirit, it’s all shattered’

Vinesh Phogat, the first Indian woman to qualify for an Olympic wrestling final, appeared to announce her retirement from the sport in a heartbreaking statement.. ..

In a social media post, Phogat said her spirit was broken after she was disqualified from the gold medal match of the womens 50kg freestyle category.. ..

Her journey to the final had included one of the most stunning upsets of the Games so far when she beatreigning Olympic gold medalist Yui Susakiin a dramatic first-round bout.. . Susaki, who was widely touted as thebest pound-for-pound freestyle wrestlerin the world, had never lost a fight at the senior level and did not even drop a point on her way to gold at the last Olympics in Tokyo.. . Phogat came through with a late takedown to claim a 3-2 decision in their opening match before besting Ukraines Oksana Livach 7-5 and Cubas Yusneylis Guzmn Lpez 5-0 on her march to the medal podium.. ..

A little over a year ago, shewas sleeping on the streets of New Delhi as part of an athlete-led protest demanding action on sexual harassment claims made against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and a powerful politician from Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.. . Dramatic images showed Phogat, her sister and fellow wrestler Sangeeta Phogat, and Sakshi Malik who won bronze in 2016 in the 58 kg category beingdragged by officers..

Before her disqualification, Phogats fellow wrestlers hailed her journey to the final as both a personal and collective triumph for Indias wrestling community who have long complained that authorities failed to take their allegations seriously...

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