NEVER HAS an athlete without a medal around her neck got the kind of grand homecoming that awaited Vinesh Phogat on Saturday. It took even the wrestler by surprise.
Phogat’s return to India was delayed as she stayed back in Paris to await the outcome of her appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), challenging her disqualification from the 50-kg gold-medal bout at the Olympics for being 100g overweight. Her appeal was dismissed on Wednesday.
On Saturday, as she exited from Gate No. 18 of Delhi Airport’s Terminal 3 at around 10.30 am, Phogat seemed to be in a state of daze — the Paris trauma of the missed medal writ large on her face. Eyes puffed due to lack of sleep, cheeks shrunk, and a messy haircut given by her trainer a cruel reminder of the night before the final weigh-in, she looked around expressionless.
Then she broke into a smile. She had spotted her mother, brother, other family members and her two fellow protesters, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, with whom she had sat at Jantar Mantar last year, leading the protest against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexual harassment by some of the country’s elite wrestlers.
Phogat was escorted to a waiting SUV and made to sit on top of it. The assembled crowd raised slogans, showered rose petals and covered her with marigold garlands. Overwhelmed by the show of affection, the wrestler broke down, then wiped her tears and folded her hands to acknowledge the crowd.
A group of schoolgirls, who had travelled to Delhi from rural Haryana, could be heard talking about the bout where “Vinesh didi” took down Japanese legend Yui Susaki, who was unbeaten till then.
An elderly woman pushing an overloaded luggage trolley dodged the crowd to get a glimpse of Phogat. “What all she has gone through… what is she made of,” she wondered aloud.
The politics, ahead of the coming Haryana Assembly elections, was hard to miss. Congress leader Deepender Hooda was with Phogat at the airport, greeting fans and accepting garlands. BJP member and former boxer Vijender Singh was there too.
The cavalcade of cars with the Phogat entourage had freshly-printed pictures of the wrestler with a caption that read, “mahri chhori, khara sona (my daughter, pure gold)”. On the way to her village of Balali, in Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana, they made many pit stops — starting with a quick halt at Mahipalpur, Delhi’s Jat-dominated area close to the airport.
All along the way, small reception parties were waiting, under colourful shamianas with plastic chairs arranged in neat rows. After a few stops, Phogat looked emotional. Though reluctant to speak initially, she later took the microphone and addressed the gatherings. “So what if they didn’t give me the gold medal, people here have given me more than that. The love and respect that I have received is worth more than a thousand Olympic gold medals,” she said.
Her brother Harinder, who organised the road trip to the village, talked about the outpouring of public affection for Phogat. “Vinesh is returning to the country. People have come here at the (Delhi) airport to welcome her. People are also waiting to welcome her to our village. They are excited to meet Vinesh and encourage her,” he said.
As they made their way to the Delhi-Haryana border, on the outskirts of Gurgaon, the reception took on a different colour. Away from the swarm of cameras and police, the fans could get closer to the one they had been waiting for. Next to the highway, at a small felicitation organised by a local property dealer, the mood was visibly jubilant.
Slogans raised about “struggle” and “revolution” were drowned out by celebratory Haryanvi folk music blaring from speakers. There were traffic jams on the road as drivers stopped to take a look.
Phogat and Punia braved the passionate crowds as elders made their way to bless them and, in an endearing scene, several parents were seen bringing their daughters to present flowers to, and get a glimpse of, their idol. At every crossroad, Phogat’s SUV was stopped by a crowd of selfie-seekers.
By late evening, Phogat seemed exhausted, but the smile that was missing from the photographs that emerged from Paris after her disqualification was back.
