Politics beckons Vinesh Phogat. But will the wrestler take the plunge?

Delhi: With Vinesh Phogat returning to the country amidst fanfare after announcing her retirement from the sport of wrestling, a lot of speculations regarding her future are doing the rounds.

While some suggest that she might return to the sport, others indicate that she might be joining politics and could well be contesting in the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections.

As reported by news agency IANS, the now retired wrester is expected to run in the upcoming elections and might come up against her cousin and wrestler Babita Phogat.

Political parties wooing Vinesh

If sources close to the Phogat family are to be believed, multiple political parties are trying to convince her after the grand welcome she received in the national capital and her native village Balali on her return.

"You never know. Some people are trying to convince her to contest in the elections given her recent popularity. Political parties are seeing it as an important opportunity for a strong candidate in the elections," a source close to the family told The Bridge.

The Haryana Assembly elections are scheduled to be held from 1st October 2024 and the presence of Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda during the welcome of Vinesh has only fueled the speculation of her joining the Congress party.

However, as per our sources, there is no certainty at this point if she will join any political party.

"There are a couple of rumours about her joining Congress but nothing is sure at the moment. The last few months have been tough for her, so can't comment if she will join politics," the source told this writer.

Her husband Somvir Rathee also quashed any such rumour along with her return to the sport.

"I know there are a lot of speculations and there are a lot of rumours going on about Vinesh. All of this is just a cheap way of gaining popularity and nothing else," Somvir told The Bridge.

"The rumours about her joining politics and getting loads of prize money are false. She is not going anywhere at the moment," Somvir clarified.

Is there a possibility that Vinesh will join politics?

The 29-year-old wrestler has been at the center of the wrestler's protest against former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh along with Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik.

With her being one of the driving forces behind the protest against a politically powerful leader, the conversation surrounding her political aspirations and rumours of all three of them joining politics is but natural.

While there is a strong assurance from her side of not coming back from retirement, there have been multiple signs that she might come back to the mat.

"I know there is a lot of wrestling left inside Vinesh and she had planned till 2032. But with no support from the federation and so much struggle to get what we deserve, I think this is the right decision," Somvir had told The Bridge last week.

That the At 29-year-old has plenty to offer was visible during her historic bout against Yui Susaki at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Despite the disqualification and a lost medal, the wrestling world has seen comebacks from such a situation in the past with 57kg Olympic Champion Rei Higuchi being the latest example.

The Japanese wrestler missed his weigh-in before the Tokyo qualifiers in 2020 and couldn't wrestle in front of his home fans. But the world number one came back stronger three years later to claim the Olympic crown at Paris 2024.

With Wrestling World Championships two months away, Vinesh will have time to contemplate her decision of returning to the mat or going ahead with the bout in the political arena.