People eager to take revenge for insult to wrestlers: Vinesh

Sitting on a ‘charpai’ (cot) in the ‘baithak’ (place for gathering of elderly men) which has noisy ceiling fan and low lighting, wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat looks a bit untidy after finishing her day-long tour when she returns home at Khera Bakhta village of Julana Assembly segment in Jind district.

But inside of her, she is apparently firmly in grip of things and shows nerves of steel. She is obviously taking on rivals on multiple fronts — facing verbal volley from Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, poll rivals in Julana, lack of resources and resentment within the Phogat family — all at one time.

“Brij Bhushan is falling to a new low every now and then. Abhi vo aur bhi nichapan dikhayega (he will stoop lower). But I have many issues of public importance to deal with besides the aspirations of the people which motivate me to keep going without getting distracted by such things,” she told The Tribune in an interview.

Recalling her fight for honour of the women wrestlers which pitted her against the former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan, Vinesh said people in Julana Assembly constituency are also associating her pain and suffering with them. “People faced atrocities of the BJP government in Haryana like the pain suffered by me and my fellow wrestlers during the agitation. Hence, they want to take revenge for all these events in this election,” she said.

Sharing her two-decade-long journey in wrestling which has leapfrogged her to politics, Vinesh said that being a woman, life was always full of challenges — pursuing a career in sports or in politics. “But it’s pleasing to see that Haryana’s patriarchal society has shown signs of change. Men in Haryana have realised that there are women-specific issues. They express solidarity with us when we raise the wrestlers’ issues,” she said.

Vinesh said that even though she lacks political experience and is facing resource crunch, she had confidence in her hard work and beliefs. “I learnt from wrestling that we should not consider any opponent as lightweight. It also requires patience which I learnt in wrestling,” she said.

When asked about Brij Bhushan’s allegation that she used her pressure to get a quota in Olympics, she responded that he is a shameless person who was chargesheeted in a criminal case and who faced protest at such a large scale. He would obviously resort to such tactics in an attempt to run a negative narrative. “Wrestling is so popular and everybody understands the system now. My selection for the Olympics was a crystal clear case as per the criteria. Making such allegations against me is a publicity stunt. He could stoop further,” she said.

Vinesh, however, refused to talk much about the Phogat family — her uncle and coach Mahavir Phogat and cousin sister Babita who are critical of her decision to join the Congress. She said that everybody has own views and opinions. “I am thankful to my family. I now want to give back to them whatever I have learnt from them. I wish good for them and want them to also feel proud of me,” she said.