“I will feed him churma, halwa….”: Wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s mother gets emotional after she returns from Paris

Former Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s brother and mother Harvinder and Premlata expressed happiness over her warm welcome on her return home after her defeat at the Paris Olympics. Vinesh became the first Indian woman to reach the final of the wrestling competition but was disqualified for violating the weight limit. Vinesh arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi National Airport on Saturday, where she was given a rousing welcome.

Speaking to ANI during a roadshow in Jhajjar, the wrestler’s brother Harvinder said that the love and support of the people will be a source of strength for him in such difficult times.

Harvinder said, “It is heartening to see the love and support of people. These people and their support will give him the strength to move forward.”

The wrestler’s mother Premlata also told ANI, “It feels great (to welcome her). She did really well and the country has given her a lot of love and support. We will feed her churma, halwa, chutney, curd when she comes back home.”

The Haryana-born wrestler got emotional and cried while being welcomed at the airport today.

In Paris, Vinesh became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final.

However, she was disqualified from the 50kg gold medal bout after being found to be 100 grams overweight. On Wednesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected her plea to be awarded a joint silver medal. On August 8, a day after being disqualified, she announced her retirement from wrestling.

Vinesh was scheduled to face Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the United States for the gold medal on August 7. She was disqualified before the women’s 50 kg final after she exceeded the 50 kg weight limit before the final on August 7. During the weigh-in, she was found to be 100 grams over the weight limit. After being disqualified, Vinesh appealed to be awarded the silver medal in the 50 kg weight category.

A huge crowd gathered at the Delhi airport to welcome the 29-year-old. Fans showered flowers on him upon his arrival in the national capital.

On August 8, Vinesh wrote an emotional post announcing her decision to retire from wrestling. In her post, Phogat said, “Maa wrestling won over me, I lost. Forgive me, your dream and my courage are broken. I have no more strength left. Goodbye wrestling 2001-2024. I will always be indebted to all of you for your forgiveness.”