Wrestler Vinesh Phogat said on Tuesday that she will not compete at the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou due to a knee injury and will undergo surgery on Thursday (August 17) in Mumbai.
With Vinesh's departure, the path is now open for Antim Panghal to join the squad. The U-20 world champion, who had emerged victorious in the selection trials and was named as a reserve player, will now represent India in the women's 53kg category.
"I wanted to share an extremely sad piece of news. A couple of days ago on August 13, I injured my left knee in training. After doing the scans and examinations, the doctor said that unfortunately, surgery is the only option for me to recover.
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"I will be undergoing surgery on August 17 in Mumbai. It was my dream to retain my Asian Games Gold medal for India which I won in 2018 at Jakarta. But unfortunately, this injury has ruled out my participation now. I have informed concerned authorities immediately so that the Reserve player can be sent to the Asian Games," she said in a statement posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
A former medallist at the World Championships and a prominent figure in the wrestlers' protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Vinesh was initially granted a direct entry into the continental event by an ad-hoc panel.
However, this decision sparked significant controversy, with numerous young wrestlers highlighting that this approach was not appropriate.
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