Japanese wrestler Rei Higuchi has extended his support to the Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat after winning the gold medal in the 57kg freestyle category in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 on Friday.
Vinesh Phogat Announced Retirement After Heartbreaking Exit
It has to be noted that the Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the Paris Olympics 2024 women’s freestyle 50kg event after failing the pre-match weigh-in by just 100 grams on the day of her gold medal bout.
Despite a dominant performance en route to the final clash that saw her defeating defending champion Yui Susaki, she wasn’t just denied the only chance to fight for the gold medal but was also stripped of a guaranteed silver medal.
From training throughout the night and taking out blood from her body to chopping off her hair, Vinesh Phogat took extreme measures to reduce the extra weight she gained overnight.
After her heartbroken end to the Paris Olympics 2024 campaign, Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling.
माँ कुश्ती मेरे से जीत गई मैं हार गई माफ़ करना आपका सपना मेरी हिम्मत सब टूट चुके इससे ज़्यादा ताक़त नहीं रही अब।
अलविदा कुश्ती 2001-2024 🙏
आप सबकी हमेशा ऋणी रहूँगी माफी 🙏🙏
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) August 7, 2024
Gold Medalist Rei Higuchi Extends Support To India’s Vinesh Phogat
Surprisingly, the gold medalist from Japan was disqualified from Tokyo Olympics qualification as he failed to meet the cut during the pre-match weigh-in by 50 grams. However, Rei made a strong comeback in the ongoing Paris Olympics and secured a win on points 4-2 against the US opponent Spencer Richard Lee in the final. On the way to his gold, Higuchi defeated India’s Aman Sehrawat in the semifinal.
Later, after winning the gold medal, Rei Higuchi took to his social media and offered his support for Vinesh Phogat and urged her to reverse her decision to retire from the sport. Rei Higuchi wrote:
“I understand your pain the best. same 50g. Don’t worry about the voices around you. Life goes on. Rising from setbacks is the most beautiful thing. Take a good rest.”
Check out the Tweet:
I understand your pain the best.
same 50g.
Don't worry about the voices around you.
Life goes on.
Rising from setbacks is the most beautiful thing.
Take a good rest. https://t.co/KxtTMw4vhL— Rei Higuchi (@Reihiguchi0128) August 9, 2024
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Further, the Japanese wrestler has also urged Vinesh Phogat to block all the outside voices and overcome this setback. He expressed that he understands Vinesh Phogat’s pain after having gone through a similar situation during the last Olympics in his own country.
Meanwhile, Vinesh Phogat and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) have made a strong appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following her disqualification from the gold medal match in the 50kg wrestling event at the Paris Olympics 2024. Vinesh Phogat has appealed to be given a joint silver medal.
