Vinesh had tears in her eyes seeing thousands of people at the airport to welcome her.With garlands around her neck and fellow wresters Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik by her side, the adulation never stopped until she arrived home, where it reached a crescendo.
The three-time Olympian understandably feels robbed of a medal at the Paris Games, after she was disqualified on the day of her 50kg freestyle gold-medal match for being 100gm overweight. Heartbroken, Vinesh announced her retirement from wrestling the next day and then suffered another jolt when her appeal for a joint silver medal was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration of Sport.
“I just want to say that missing the Olympic medal is the biggest wound in my life,” she said, as quoted by PTI, upon reaching her village late on Saturday night.
“I don’t know how much time it would take to heal this wound, I don’t know if I would pursue wrestling or not, but the kind of courage I got today (Saturday), I want to use that in the right direction,” said Vinesh, acknowledging the love and support of his fans, family and friends.
The 2018 Asian Games gold medallist, who has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and two World Championship bronze, said the kind of welcome she has received despite the setback, it has given her a lot of courage.
“As I got love from my fellow Indians, my village and my family members, I guess I would get some courage to make this wound heal. Maybe, I could return to wrestling,” she added.
