'Our fight has not ended and the fight will continue and I pray to god that the truth will prevail'
Overwhelmed by the grand reception she received on her arrival from the Paris Olympics, wrestler Vinesh Phogat has said that her fight for the betterment of Indian wrestling would continue and that "truth will prevail".
Hundreds of supporters had gathered outside the IGI airport here on Saturday to give a rousing welcome to Vinesh who was disqualified for being overweight after reaching the 50kg final at the Olympics.
Vinesh's appeal against her disqualification was also rejected by the ad-hoc division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
"Our fight has not ended and the fight will continue and I pray to god that the truth will prevail,” said Vinesh while addressing the crowd.
Vinesh and fellow Olympians Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik have been protesting for more than a year against the Wrestling Federation of India and its former chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for his alleged sexual harassment of women grapplers.
Six wrestler, including Vinesh, sat in protest at Jantar Mantar last year demanding action against the former WFI chief before they were evicted as they tried to march towards the new Parliament building.
Vinesh also said that the welcome she had received on arrival would give her the courage to pick up the threads and get on with life.
"As I got love from my fellow Indians, my village and my family members, I guess I would get some courage to make this wound heal. Maybe, I could return to wrestling," said the 29-year-old Vinesh.
"Missing the Olympic medal is the biggest wound in my life. I don't know how much time it would take to heal this wound. I don't know if I would pursue wrestling or not but the kind of courage I got today , I want to use that in the right direction," she added.
Vinesh said she does not know if she deserved the accolades or not.
"But I feel extremely lucky to be born in this village. I would always fight for the honour of the women and of this village."
The two-time World Championships medallist wished that someone from Balali would better her wrestling achievements.
She is a two-time CWG gold medallist, Asian Games champion and has won eight Asian Championships medals.
"I want it from the bottom of my heart that somebody from the village carries my legacy forward and breaks my records. If I can promote women wrestlers of my village, it would be my biggest achievement," she said.
"It would be disappointing if no wrestler emerged from this village. We have paved the way with your achievements. I request you all to support the women in this village, they need support if they have to replace us."
"They can achieve a lot. All they need is your support. I will always be indebted to this nation, this village. Whatever I have learnt, I will share with my sisters from this village and I wish someone from this village breaks my record."
Vinesh had announced her retirement from the sport after her disqualification.
