On Friday, December 12, 2025, three-time Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat announced that she will reverse her retirement decision and will continue to play in tournaments. The female wrestler is set to make her comeback and return to the ring for the Los Angeles Olympics scheduled in 2028
with good hopes.
Earlier, Vinesh suffered heartbreak after getting disqualified from the Paris 2024 Olympics for being just 100 grams overweight to participate in the 50kg finals event. Disappointed by the decision, the World Championship bronze medalist made her retirement call. But little did she know that her time off the wrestling ring for more than a year could end up making her return to the sport.
Announcing her comeback, Vinesh wrote a heartfelt message on her Instagram post and shared the reason behind the decision with her fans.
She wrote, “People kept asking if Paris was the end. For a long time, I didn’t have the answer. I needed to step away from the mat, from the pressure, from the expectations, even from my own ambitions. For the first time in years, I allowed myself to breathe.”
For Vinesh, the time off from the competitive environment in wrestling and the added pressure helped her mind to calm down and led her to peace and freedom. She said she saw a different version of herself, which she never would have found had it not been her decision to quit. During that time, she found the reality and the love that still exists within her for the sport and the belief that she could compete more.
“In that silence, I found something I’d forgotten ‘the fire never left’. It was only buried under exhaustion and noise. The discipline, the routine, the fight… it’s in my system. No matter how far I walked away, a part of me stayed on the mat. So here I am, stepping back toward LA28 with a heart that’s unafraid and a spirit that refuses to bow,” she added.
The 31-year-old will make her comeback for the 2028 LA Olympics but she won’t be alone this time. She will have her support system, her son, who will be part of her team and will be beside her to cheer her on.
“And this time, I’m not walking alone my son is joining my team, my biggest motivation, my little cheerleader on this road to the LA Olympics,” she concluded her message.
When talking about her career achievements, Vinesh already has three gold medals from Commonwealth Games, two bronzes from World Championships and a gold won each in the Asian Games and Asian Championships.
In the 2024 Paris Games, she made it to the finals and after coming close to a gold medal victory, due got disqualified after failing the weight-in test on the day of the match.
