Sports / We celebrated Biles as she said she isn't mentally prepared, try that in India: Vinesh

Sports Desk: Wrestler Vinesh Phogat has been in the news for most of this week for the wrong reasons. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) temporarily suspended her on charges of indiscipline during the recent Tokyo Olympics, where she lost in the quarterfinals.

Vinesh Phogat was accused of not staying in the Olympic Games Village and training with other Indian team members. She also did not wear the name of the official sponsors of the Indian contingent, Shiv Naresh, and chose to wear a Nike singlet during her bouts.

Vinesh was given time until August 16 (Monday) to reply to the charges against her.

On Friday morning, Phogat responded to the accusations against her and revealed her mental health struggles in an emotional article on The Indian Express.

In the article, Phogat dismissed the claim she was not a team player. Phogat said she had been wary of contracting COVID-19 again and decided to stay away from the team. "What if I got it on the flight and infected them? I was, in fact, thinking about them and wanted to stay away for 2-3 days to be sure that they were not at risk. What’s the big deal? After 2-3 days I was going to join them and even began training with Seema. So there’s no question of me not being a team-player," she wrote in The Indian Express.

Vinesh Phogat defended her association with coach Woller Akos. "Woller travelled with me, to help me, stayed with me in Lucknow when his one-year-old son was in Budapest. When COVID hit, he continued training and motivated me when the Olympics was postponed. He did not care about his personal life. How can you blame that person? Woller did everything. He didn’t stop crying when I lost. His wife didn’t stop crying. She’s a 4-time Olympian, and was only of help to my training being from a higher-weight category. I’ve won these last three years with the same support staff," she wrote in The Indian Express.

Phogat revealed her struggle with depression and lack of understanding about mental issues of sportspersons in India. She wrote, "When in 2019 I changed weight, I was diagnosed with depression for three months. I was in Spain. I felt something was wrong. I never slept. For days I would be awake."

She revealed, "Do you think doing meditation and talking to a psychologist is enough? Nothing is enough. Only we know. Now, I find it difficult to cry. I have zero mental strength right now. Like they did not even let me regret my loss. Everyone was ready with their knives. At least don’t abuse the people on the team because of my result. Who can feel the pain more than the wrestler who has worked so hard mentally and physically."

Vinesh Phogat contrasted her plight with the sympathetic media coverage of US gymnast Simone Biles, who dropped out of the Olympic finals, citing the need for prioritise her mental health.

"We celebrate Simone Biles as she said that I am not mentally prepared to perform at the Olympics and did not do her event. Try just saying that in India. Forget pulling out of wrestling, just try saying that you are not ready. I have not recovered mentally. I slept once since I reached home. I slept for two hours on the flight and sometimes in the Village. There, I would walk alone and drink coffee. I was alone," she wrote.

She concluded, "I don’t know when I will return (to the mat). Maybe I won’t. I feel I was better off with that broken leg. I had something to correct. Now my body is not broken, but I’m truly broken."