Angry Vinesh Phogat hits back at 'ego' claim

Vinesh Phogat has taken exception to the speculation that 'her ego brought about her downfall' at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year. Vinesh had been knocked out in the quarterfinals despite being a pre-tournament favourite in the 53 kg women's freestyle wrestling category.

An article summing up how the year 2021 has gone for Indian wrestling mentioned that Vinesh's 'Olympic trauma' was one of the downsides of the year. "No one said it openly but many believed that it was her ego that brought about her downfall," the article mentioned.

Reacting to the article, Vinesh tweeted on Wednesday: "Who decides downfall?? Whoever wants to say or write anything about my behaviour, please go ahead, because somewhere at some point, I must have hurt their ego by my honesty."

Earlier in the day, Vinesh had lent her support to badminton player HS Prannoy from her Twitter account. Sharing the news that Prannoy has been battling ailments for the last three years, she tweeted: "No one knows what an athlete goes through behind the scenes."

Vinesh Phogat had crashed out of the Tokyo Olympics after losing against Belarus' Vanesa Kaladzinskaya, an opponent she has beaten easily in the past.