‘Tired of fighting’: Shashi Tharoor reacts after Vinesh Phogat announces retirement | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday reacted to wrestler Vinesh Phogat‘s retirement, saying that the wrestler who was at the cusp of bringing glory, was a victim of being “caught in the system” and had worn out trying to fend it off.
The four time Thiruvananthapuram MP, who on Wednesday said Phogat did not deserve to be disqualified, took to X after the wrestler announced that she was hanging her boots following the unfortunate turn of events.In a post on X, the Congress leader wrote, “this girl is caught in this system. This girl is tired of fighting,” with a caption #SorryVinesh.
After her disqualification, Prime Minister Modi heaped praise for Vinesh Phogat as a “champion among champions” and exuded hope that she would come back stronger following her disqualification.
“Vinesh, you are a champion among champions! You are India’s pride and an inspiration for each and every Indian. Today’s setback hurts. I wish words could express the sense of despair that I am experiencing. At the same time, I know that you epitomise resilience. It has always been your nature to take challenges head on,” Modi posted on X. “Come back stronger! We are all rooting for you,” he added.

‘Victim of sports politics’
However, the opposition has questioned the wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification and hit out at the Modi 3.0 government for making her the “fall girl”. The Congress claimed that Phogat had become a “victim of sports politics” and raised why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP ministers were late to congratulate her, particularly given her performance of winning three in a stretch.
The Congress also did not hold back from linking the developments to the protests against former Wrestling Federation of India head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing trial over charges of sexual harassment and intimidation by women wrestlers.
“Vinesh Phogat did not lose on the mat of wrestling, but lost on the mat of conspiracy,” Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said as he claimed that the wrestler was a victim of politics in sports.
After the sports minister responded in parliament on Vinesh Phogat, NCP(SCP) leader Supriya Sule also accused the sports minister of indirectly blaming Vinesh to be overweight and demanded a high-level probe against the support team.
“The support team was approved by the government and IOA and has to be held accountable. Mansukh Mandavia, the sports minister, justifying and defending the team is absurd and disgusting, indirectly blaming Vinesh to be overweight. She is a proud daughter of India who made the finals against all odds and much to the chagrin of the powers that be. Is this why she gets the blame and all the rest go scot free?”, Sule said.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh also demanded intervention from the Indian government and went so far as to assert that the Olympics must be boycotted, “if the matter is not accepted.”

Phogat was disqualified from the Olympics after being found overweight ahead of her women’s 50kg final. She was a win away from clinching India’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympics.