What Coach Mahavir Phogat Said After Vinesh Phogat Joined Congress

Wrestling coach Mahavir Singh Phogat has expressed disappointment over his niece Vinesh Phogat's decision to join the Congress party. Mahavir Phogat said that she could have postponed this move until after the 2028 Olympics, suggesting that her focus should have remained on securing the gold medal for India.

Vinesh, who faced disqualification during the Paris Olympics in 2024 for being overweight by just 100 grams, has now pivoted from the mat to the political arena and is on course to fight the Haryana Assembly elections from Julana next month. While acknowledging her achievements in wrestling, Mahavir Phogat said that the country had pinned hopes on her for a gold medal at the Olympics, and he feels her transition to politics came too soon.

"She did very well in the Paris Olympics but got disqualified in the final. It is my personal opinion that she should participate in the 2028 Olympics. Gold medal is my dream; she did not get it but the people of India gave her immense love and they had expected a Gold from her. People were disheartened. The decision that she has taken, I am saddened by it that she had joined politics. But she could have taken this decision after the 2028 Olympics, it would have been better," Mahavir Phogat told ANI.