Vinesh Phogat is the ultimate ‘zidd’ of Indian sport

A lot has already been written, spoken and discussed about Vinesh Phogat and the Wrestling Federation of India saga. Every layer has already been examined in great detail by journalists, experts and on social media.

What’s brewing within the WFI or what preparations Vinesh is quietly undergoing for her big return on May 30 is something no one truly knows.

But one thing is clear: the pressure to perform now will be far greater than what she experienced at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

While everyone is discussing the chronology of events, very few have touched upon what it means for a woman to return to the elite level while still in her late postpartum.

Here’s how I, as a mother, a journalist, and, most importantly, an athlete, look at the entire episode through these three lenses.

As a mother, the physical and emotional toll that Vinesh has already undergone is commendable. According to the International Testing Agency (ITA), Vinesh was eligible to compete from January 1, 2026, barely six months after the birth of her son, Kridhav, on July 1, 2025.

Back then, the body was still healing, hormones were still normalising, and sleep cycles were still broken. The child was still adjusting to a world away from his mother. It takes time for a woman to rediscover herself after childbirth.

While most women are still learning to adapt to their changing bodies, Vinesh was already back in training. Sweating it out every day, trying to rejoin pieces of a dream that shattered in Paris.

Her body is no longer hitting the same intensity that it was when she entered Paris. Her bones, blood, tissues and every body organ worked overtime to create another human.

Her body must still be in adaptation mode, with the initial months of training feeling like climbing Everest. Even the simplest of tasks must have taken a toll on her. The recovery, the intensity with which she once trained, cannot be identical to what they once were. But she still tried.

As a journalist, I agree that both the WFI and Vinesh will eventually have to learn to coexist to maintain a healthy balance. Not every rule can be altered, and not every disagreement can be settled inside a courtroom. They need to settle for an amicable middle ground.

Having said that, forwarding the email thread and keeping the federation informed would not have hurt either. Vinesh and the protesting wrestlers were fighting against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, not the sport. Federations streamline and promote the sport in the country.

If the website registration link for the National Ranking Tournament in Gonda had a technical glitch, other channels could have been explored before approaching the media.

But the athlete in me believes Vinesh Phogat is the ultimate ‘zidd’ of Indian sport. She represents a rare defiance in Indian wrestling. An athlete who is daring enough to question the system.

What she achieved in Paris was unthinkable. She handed Japan’s Yui Susaki one of the biggest defeats of her career.

Vinesh was not on the cusp of history; she had already made one after reaching the women’s 53kg final.

But her decisions from here will determine whether the ghost of Paris returns to haunt her.

Choosing the 50kg category again should not even be an option going forward. The overnight trauma of extreme weight cutting, her every attempt to make weight ahead of the Olympic final is a situation she would want to avoid at any cost.

That moment had sent shockwaves across the country. The entire nation felt something precious had been snatched away.

That leaves 53kg and 57kg as the two viable options ahead. Vinesh has achieved most of her credentials in the 53kg category including being the World No. 1 heading into the Tokyo Olympics. But then competing in it now will come at a cost and whether she is ready for it mentally and physically is something for her to gauge.

Personally, I would lean towards 57kg because it would allow her body more breathing space rather than living under constant strain of weight management every time a major tournament approaches.

Some may argue that the higher weight categories feature physically stronger opponents. But then again, Vinesh has an aura, and in two years time she could become one of the most feared contenders herself.

Perhaps this time, her comeback is no longer about medals. It is about a woman, a mother and an athlete refusing to accept the Paris Olympics as an ideal conclusion to her story.

It is about Vinesh wanting to script one of the strongest comebacks in Indian sports history. And perhaps that is why her fight feels bigger than the sport itself.