Vinesh Phogat pulls out of Asian Games due to knee injury

New Delhi [India], August 15 (ANI): India’s ace grappler Vinesh Phogat on Tuesday said that she has pulled out of the upcoming Asian Games in  China’s Hangzhou. 

Vinesh who was given an exemption from the Asian Games trials took to X, formerly known as Twitter to disclose that she will undergo a knee surgery on August 17 in Mumbai. 

In her message, she wrote, “I wanted to share an extremely sad piece of news. A couple of days ago on 13th August 2023, injured my left knee in training. After doing the scans and examinations, the has said that unfortunately, surgery is the only option for me to recover.”

“I will be undergoing surgery on 17th August in Mumbai. It was my dream to retain my Asian Games Gold medal for India which I won in 2018 at Jakarta. But unfortunately, this injury has ruled out my participation now, have informed all concerned authorities immediately so that the Reserve player can be sent to the Asian Games,” Vinesh added.

Vinesh also said that she is looking to return to the mat as soon as possible and begin her preparation for the Paris Olympics 2024. 

“I would like to request all the fans to continue supporting me so that I can make a strong come back to the mat soon and prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Your support gives me a lot of strength,” Vinesh wrote.

Last month, Vinesh had withdrawn from Budapest Ranking Series 2023 as the wrestler informed the organisers as well as the Sports Authority of India (SAI) about her inability to participate in the competition due to “fever and food poisoning.”

Wrestler Antim Panghal who was on standby for Vinesh will now take her place in India’s wrestling contingent. 

Last month, Vinesh and Bajrang recieved an exemption from the ad hoc committee from the Asian Games, Hangzhou, trials which will begin on September 23.

The Delhi High Court also dismissed the petitions moved by wrestlers, Antim Panghal and Sujeet Kalkal, over the exemption given to both wrestlers, for direct entry into the Asian Games 2023 by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) ad-hoc.